Mumbai Malls, Eateries To Remain Open 24x7 After Maharashtra Government’s Nod To Aaditya Thackeray’s Proposal

Maharashtra cabinet on Wednesday (22 January) approved Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray’s proposal to let malls and eateries in Mumbai to remain open 24x7, Hindustan Times reported.

The move is going to be implemented in phases beginning from 27 January, with shops in select non-residential areas in the first phase.

Thackeray, after cabinet’s clearance to his proposal, said that the places that serve liquor such as pubs, bars, and alcohol shops will not be exempted under the new rules. They will continues to operate by the usual deadline of 1:30am, he added.

“The proposal, first mooted in 2013, has now been given a nod by the cabinet,” Thackeray told reporters. Targeting the previous Devendra Fadnavis-led government in which his party was an ally, he further said the move hadn’t been acted upon earlier due to a “credit war”.

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, slammed the move raising concerns about the safety of citizens, especially women. Party MLA Ashish Shelar attacked the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition government and said, “nightlife will kill life in Mumbai.”

However, Thackeray junior clarified that the move did not make it a compulsion for anyone to keep their shops open the whole night, adding that it was optional.

“London’s nightlife economy is 5 billion pounds and we expect similar growth in Mumbai. We have 5 lakh youths employed in the service sector in Mumbai. This proposal may help the number of jobs to double to 10 lakh,” explained Thackeray, who is a first-time minister in his father Uddhav Thackeray-led government.

In the first phase that is to be implemented from coming Monday, gated communities such as Bandra Kurla complex and Nariman Point have been given the 24x7 exemption. In order to initiate the implementation, one lame each at both the areas have been identified to allow food trucks to operate in night time.