shot-button
Subscription Subscription
Home > Mumbai > Mumbai News > Article > New Year Eve 2020 Mumbai does not know about 5 am deadline to party

New Year Eve 2020: Mumbai does not know about 5 am deadline to party!

Updated on: 31 December,2019 07:30 AM IST  |  Mumbai
Pallavi Smart |

And, bars and restaurants wish this deadline was allowed on weekends as well

New Year Eve 2020: Mumbai does not know about 5 am deadline to party!

Restaurants and bars said people usually prefer house parties over bars and restaurants to escape traffic jams

Mumbai may have been allowed an extended deadline to party till 5 am to welcome the New Year but people either don't know about it or restaurants don't wish to stay open that late. Even as the deadline of 1.30 am was extended till 5am for December 25, several restaurants and bars shut shop by 2 am or 3 am. According to many in the business, there were several reasons.


Naveen Shetty, who owns a few restaurants and bars in the city, blames it on lack of awareness among the public. "If a bar or restaurant has a reputation of remaining open till late, people generally know. So people prefer going to their regular late deadline places instead of new ones. This practice of allowing restaurants an extended deadline on just a couple of days in a year will not work."


Opposing this, Shivanand Shetty, president of AHAR, said awareness was not the problem. "People mostly prefer to party at home or friends' homes on such days than getting stuck in heavy traffic jams or crowds in restaurants and bars."


Priyank Sukhija of First Fiddle Hospitality, which owns Lord of The Drinks, Jlwa, Tamasha and Dragonfly, has a different take on the issue. He said, "Both occasions this year come mid-week. People have to go to work the next day. More so, there is a tendency among people to party till a maximum of 2 or 3 am. One hardly sees people partying till 5am." Sukhija said all places he owns stayed open till around 2.30am for Christmas and expects a similar deadline for New Year's Eve, too. He said, "We hope such extensions are given on regular weekends, too."

Meldan D'Cunha from Soul Fry, said, "We are primarily a restuarant and then a bar so we prefer to not stay open so late as we have to start work early the next day. The staff, too, needs rest. But, we were open on Christmas till 2.30 am." Apurva Banthia, resident of Andheri, said, "I was not aware about this extended deadline. But, anyway, the regular places I know were not open till that late on Christmas Day and I do not feel they will stay open till 5am for New Year's Eve either. If places are open people will definitely party till 5am."

"Despite having permission from the police department for 5am, the local police do not allow us. Our business suffers because of this but the goverment and police do not care. The local police fear that they will get suspended if something happens, so to avoid action by senior officers they shut bar and restaurants several hours before the deadline," said Santosh Shetty, owner of Lotus Bar and Restaurant.

Special trains, buses on December 31

THE Central and Western Railway will be running midnight special local trains while BEST will deploy additional buses on Tuesday night to cater the New Year revellers. A WR official said that to clear the extra rush on the occasion of New Year's Eve, WR will run eight special local trains at midnight - including four from Churchgate to Virar and four from Virar to Churchgate. Trains from Churchgate will depart at 1.15 am, 2 am, 230 am and 3.25 am with the last train reaching Virar at 5.05 am. Trains from Virar will leave at 12:15 am, 12.45 am, 1.40 am and 3.05 am. CR will also run four special trains between CSMT- Kalyan and CSMT-Panvel.

BEST will operate 20 late-night buses on six routes from Gateway of India, Juhu Chowpatty and Gorai creek. Additional buses would be deployed based on the requirement.

Meanwhile, private cab aggregator Ola said they will be deploying Safety Scouts across cities on New Year's Eve. The team comprising both men and women personnel are specially trained by Ola to help provide safety and mobility support to citizens in high traffic areas on December 31. Additionally, Ola will also be deploying Quick Response Teams, a special fleet of cars with a first aid kit and trained personnel to attend to emergency situations through the night.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!


Mid-Day Web Stories

Mid-Day Web Stories

This website uses cookie or similar technologies, to enhance your browsing experience and provide personalised recommendations. By continuing to use our website, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. OK