Citizens miffed over cops shutting down Hyderabad hotels at 11 pm, hour before deadline

HYDERABAD: Denizens in the city are miffed that they are unable to spend time at their favourite eateries as the police have been shutting down most of them by 11 pm, an hour before the scheduled deadline.

Most of these restaurants and chai points fall in the Gachibowli-Mehdipatnam stretch under the limits of Cyberabad and Hyderabad commissionerates.

Aakash, a techie who works in Gachibowli said, "The best part about Hyderabad was the night life and everything related to it. Everywhere from DLF to Tolichowki shops are shut down around 11 pm."

Ever since the new Government took over, the police has been keeping a strict vigil and have rigoursly been implementing the 'Hyderabad City Police Act 21/76’.

According to the Act, wine shops are required to conclude operations by 10 pm, pan shops by 11 pm, and bars, restaurants, dhabas, and tea stalls by 12 am.

Asif, a resident of Tolichowki, feels, "During the Telangana elections, the model code of conduct was in place and security measures had to be taken. They shut down everything early. But why are they continuing this is a mystery."

When asked about why the police is shutting down shops early, Golconda inspector Nune Venkateshwarlu said, "The police have been given a free hand to ensure law and order after the new Government came to power. So if we think there could be an issue, we shut down those places to avoid unnecessary trouble."

Another police officer who did not wish to be named, said , "Food hangouts in DLF and Madhapur are being shut down by 12 am from Sunday to Thursday and 1 am on Friday and Saturday to avoid incidents such as chain snatching and harassment."

When asked about why certain outlets are being shut early at 11 pm he said, "We are only following instructions from higher ups."

An owner of a coconut juice shop felt, "The Shops and Establishments (S&E) Act has always specified 9 AM to 11 PM as permissible operation hours for retail. Hyderabad Police, however, had been officially allowing additional working hours till midnight till November last year. Cyberabad Police had even more relaxations to the law. Now that the Government has changed, they have gone back to restrictions as per S&E."

During the Assembly session in December 2023, AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi had urged the new Congress Government to extend operational timings of shops in the Old City beyond 11 pm. He said that the previous BRS Government allowed the commercial establishments to run till midnight and the hotels to operated until 1 am.