Mumbai: Shops and establishments across the state will remain open up to 10pm with immediate effect, against the existing deadline of 8.30pm.
“We had amended the Bombay Shops and Establishment Act to extend the deadline from 8.30pm to 10pm. President Pranab Mukherjee has granted his assent to our proposal, so all shops will remain open up to 10pm with immediate effect. We have already issued a notification,” labour minister Hasan Mushrif said. There are 18.5 lakh shops and establishments in Mumbai alone and 19 lakh in the rest of the state.
The state government had introduced a bill to amend the Act on October 20, 2011, to extend the closing time from 8.30pm to 10pm. The proposal was later approved by both houses of the state legislature and submitted to the President for his assent. “The president approved the proposal a week ago,” Mushrif said.
He said the deadline for closing shops and establishments at 8.30pm was fixed way back in 1948. In the light of the changed socio-economic scenario, it was felt that the deadline should be extended up to 10pm. Mushrif said especially in a city like Mumbai, where people usually don’t reach home before 9pm, it was difficult to buy even routine items. “We feel the new deadline will certainly help people in both rural and urban areas,” he said.
A senior bureaucrat said the proposal to extend the deadline from 8.30pm to 10pm was mooted well over a decade ago, but not considered on the grounds that it would create a law and order problem and increase power consumption. “On one hand, we are keen on developing Mumbai as an international hub or commercial centre but on the other, we impose silly restrictions,’’ he said.
HAPPY HOURS
Retail establishments are currently required to start rolling down their shutters at 8.30pm
However, several shops, especially those inside malls, manage to stay open for an hour-and-ahalf extra, for which shopkeepers claim they often have to pay bribes
The amendment will allow all shops to close only from 10pm onwards
The order doesn’t affect eating houses. Restaurants which serve only food now close around 11pm whereas bars and permit rooms shut at 1.30am. Bars in five-star restaurants remain open till 3am
Source:
Times of India 16/11/2013
From India, Malappuram
“We had amended the Bombay Shops and Establishment Act to extend the deadline from 8.30pm to 10pm. President Pranab Mukherjee has granted his assent to our proposal, so all shops will remain open up to 10pm with immediate effect. We have already issued a notification,” labour minister Hasan Mushrif said. There are 18.5 lakh shops and establishments in Mumbai alone and 19 lakh in the rest of the state.
The state government had introduced a bill to amend the Act on October 20, 2011, to extend the closing time from 8.30pm to 10pm. The proposal was later approved by both houses of the state legislature and submitted to the President for his assent. “The president approved the proposal a week ago,” Mushrif said.
He said the deadline for closing shops and establishments at 8.30pm was fixed way back in 1948. In the light of the changed socio-economic scenario, it was felt that the deadline should be extended up to 10pm. Mushrif said especially in a city like Mumbai, where people usually don’t reach home before 9pm, it was difficult to buy even routine items. “We feel the new deadline will certainly help people in both rural and urban areas,” he said.
A senior bureaucrat said the proposal to extend the deadline from 8.30pm to 10pm was mooted well over a decade ago, but not considered on the grounds that it would create a law and order problem and increase power consumption. “On one hand, we are keen on developing Mumbai as an international hub or commercial centre but on the other, we impose silly restrictions,’’ he said.
HAPPY HOURS
Retail establishments are currently required to start rolling down their shutters at 8.30pm
However, several shops, especially those inside malls, manage to stay open for an hour-and-ahalf extra, for which shopkeepers claim they often have to pay bribes
The amendment will allow all shops to close only from 10pm onwards
The order doesn’t affect eating houses. Restaurants which serve only food now close around 11pm whereas bars and permit rooms shut at 1.30am. Bars in five-star restaurants remain open till 3am
Source:
Times of India 16/11/2013
From India, Malappuram
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