Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday wrote to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis demanding permission to keep Mumbai, Pune, Thane and other cities open all night for New Year celebrations.
In his letter sent to Mr. Fadnavis, Mr. Thackeray wrote, “This is to formally request you to allow Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Navi Mumbai and such other cities that wish to celebrate new years, be open all night for all legal activities of entertainment and celebration, especially in non-residential areas.”
Sena’s ally in the state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) neither supported nor opposed the demand. When asked for the comment, party’s Mumbai unit chief Ashish Shelar said that he does not want to comment on the issue.
Ahar - Indian hotel & Restaurant Association said that there is no harm in keeping the entertainment spots open all through the night. “For 31, we already have the permission to keep hotels open till 5AM. But if that happens everyday, I don’t see any harm in it,” said Arvind Shetty, Advisor, Ahar.
Mr. Thackeray also reminded the CM, who holds the State’s Home Minister portfolio, that the proposal to let non-residential areas in Mumbai and other cities be open for 24/7 has been pending with the home department for months now.
“This move would give our State employment and revenue from all safe and legal places. What is legal in the day cannot illegal at night,” he said in the letter.
“I also take this opportunity to drop a small reminder of the proposal of the BMC, first passed in 2013, then approved by the then commissioner of police in 2015 and now legislated on by the state in 2017, to let non-residential areas in Mumbai and other cities be open 24/7,” he said.
Mr Thackeray said that the proposal for Mumbai is awaiting an approval from the Home department for few months now and is foolproof.
The Sena leader said that keeping legal establishments in malls and mill compounds open 24/7 will be a boon for Maharashtra. “We need to trust our citizens and give them more space and time to unwind after hours of work,” he said.
Mr Thackeray has been promoting to keep non-residential areas of the city open 24/7 for over five years now. The move when in Mumbai civic body was under scrutiny from the BJP as well as from the opposition Congress. After it was cleared, former Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria too had cleared the proposal and now it is pending with the state government.
