Govt nod to party all night this New Year's eve in Mumbai

Hoteliers across the city will see a happy dawn to the new year, as the city police have allowed hotels to remain open till 5am on New Year’s eve.

Patrons will be able to dance to loud music till 1.30am. They do not need to stop grooving after that but just lower the volume and turn off the loud speakers. They can eat and drink till dawn. “We have finally achieved our goal and are looking forward to good business on New Year’s eve,” said president of the Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHAR) Sudhakar Shetty.

DNA had reported on Tuesday that AHAR members were disheartened by the police’s earlier decision to shut all hotels by 12.30am. Hoteliers anticipated that this move would cause them huge losses, as New Year’s eve is good for their business.

However, they were hopeful after the Bombay high court gave permission to one hotelier to keep his hotels open till 5am. The members, who had already met home secretary Medha Gadgil on Monday, carried the same HC order with them as they met deputy police commissioner (HQ-1) Vijaysingh Jadhav and joint commissioner SP Yadav on Tuesday.

“Gadgil suggested that we should approach the DCP (HQ-1). Accordingly, we met the DCP and the joint commissioner on Tuesday. They were cooperative and gave us the permission we were seeking,” said Shetty.

The hotel owners will now have to write an application to the assistant police commissioners of their respective areas, asking for permission to be open till 5am. As per the rules, they will also have to pay an additional charge of Rs250 per extra hour they plan to remain open. “We have a permit to keep bars open till 1:30am. After that, we will pay Rs250 per hour,” said Shetty.

However, this major relaxation comes with a few guidelines which have to be adhered to strictly by the hotel owners. These include regulations pertaining to decorum and security within their premises.