Whether you’re spending your weekend in bed binge-watching your way through the night or downing shots like it’s your birthday, at some point you’re bound to get hit with hunger pangs. There’s nothing worse than coming home at 3am, only to find your roommate ate all the leftovers and your only option is Smokin’ Joe’s (though to be fair, their pepperoni isn’t too bad). While 4am pizza isn’t the worst thing to happen, what if you could have an entire food court at your disposal? Or even a cinema hall running the latest Marvel movie? Well, with the Shops and Establishment Bill passed by the state government, this could actually become a possibility. Now, going to a crowded bar, only to have sweaty strangers spill drinks all over your shoes doesn’t have to be your only weekend plan in Mumbai post midnight!
Of course, the bill does come with one catch — any establishment interested in pushing their hours first requires police permission. This is an understandable move considering there would be security concerns. Depending on the area and location of the establishment, the police will set down the rules. In a report by the Hindustan Times, the labour minister Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar said, “While offering ease of doing business, we have also ensured the interests of the workers are safeguarded. We have made provisions for strict monitoring of CCTV installation and mandatory night drops for women working the night shift. Establishments that fail to follow these provisions will face strict action.”
Once these new rules are put into effect, it could mean that shops as well as malls could remain open till midnight, while restaurants and pubs can remain open even later. As of now, according to HT, ‘the Government has issued a notification to the Maharashtra Shops and Establishment Act, 2017, on Tuesday (Dec. 19) that ‘shops, cinema halls salons, hyper malls and businesses such as banks, medical establishments and tax consultancies, to open 24x7 in the state.’ In regards to the same, Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar said, “This will not only end the inspector raj but also will generate employment. Maharashtra has become first state to adopt the Model Shop Act and this will now pave way for other states to follow the provision we incorporated.” While this initiative could highly improve the quality of Mumbai’s nightlife, we remain slightly skeptical of the move — until it is fully enforced and functioning.
This article has been edited due to an update on the matter, on December 21, 2017.
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