BHUBANESWAR: The ambitious ‘Mumbai 24 hours’ project initiated by Maharashtra government has come into effect from January 27 allowing malls, restaurants and multiplexes to stay open round the clock on a pilot basis. Under the project, three areas of the city – Nariman Point, Kala Ghoda and Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) – would remain open for the public at night.
The objective of the project is to generate more employment opportunities, improve earning capacity, promote ease of doing business, boost tourism, raise Mumbai’s global standards, ensure improve standard of living, community building and raise happiness quotient of the Mumbaikers.
Although Bhubaneswar is growing in many ways, from hosting big sporting events to undertaking projects like smart parks, it still lacks the facilities to catch up with Mumbai in terms of nightlife.
People from other capital cities like Bangalore, Kolkata and Mumbai who are residing here and even some locals often get disheartened by the prospects of staying indoors at night after work. Most of the shops, restaurants and malls are shut by 10pm in the Capital city.
Orissa POST spoke to a section of the City residents and businessmen as to whether the Capital city could go Mumbai way in terms of nightlife.
Utkal Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Ramesh Mahapatra said “Bhubaneswar and Mumbai are different in both size and population. The City can experiment the system by opening shops and malls till 12pm but security system and infrastructure must be taken into consideration. During New Year celebrations every year, the Commissionerate Police collects hefty penalty from people for drunken driving late night.”
Jyoti Prakash Pal, Indian Chamber of Commerce Regional head(Odisha), said the city traffic system and rash driving need to be taken care of before implementing the nightlife system. “We need to ensure transport services throughout the night,” he added.
Shweta Agrawal, a city based social activist, said that nightlife will entail more electricity consumption. “While the Earth is already burdened with greenhouse gas emissions, it’s not wise to aggravate it further unnecessarily. Also, remaining awake at night will cause a lot of diseases. So, why to invite more problems when you already have so many? Coming back to your question, I feel Mumbai is more secure at night not because of infrastructure only but presence of a good number of people on the street, restaurants and malls. In Bhubaneswar, we still don’t have that culture which is good,” said Agrawal.
Women’s rights activist Namrata Chadha said, “It’s not possible for all business houses to serve people 24×7. But a few can afford it. And it provides new employment avenues and quality services. But first we have to take care of our city’s security system and train them to handle issues related to nightlife. Before opting for nightlife, the police have to take all possible measures to control the issues pertaining to nightlife.”
Nightlife doesn’t mean only entertainment or having party throughout the night. It includes provision of transportation to the people working in night shifts, healthcare services, food supplies and other services, she added.
Urban planner Piyush Ranjan Rout said, “I have suggested for 24X7 City that includes street vending, malls, restaurants, medicine shops etc. There were discussions earlier about nightlife, but this may be appropriate for specific business establishments. On top of this, opening of public parks 24X7 is necessary.”
S Ratan, a shopkeeper, said, “In the present situation it’s not desirable. The reason: Girls are being heckled and hurled comments even in broad daylight. We have to be culturally and morally inclusive if we are to have a proper nightlife system.” A thriving nightlife would ensure safety of everyone like families, newlyweds, singles and anyone else willing to step out, he added.
According to Chef Micheal of Michael Restaurant, “It’s a concern that one cannot find a single restaurant open after midnight if he/she feels hungry. Though it is difficult to manage all the hotels and restaurant open 24X7, we may allow some eateries and malls to open at night. Bhubaneswar is not nightlife friendly and we are not even ready yet. It will take three years or more to adopt the system.”
Bikash Moharana, a cloth store owner at Market Building, said, “More than anything else security at night is vital and at present it is impossible to see this as a reality. Recently, a group of 20-30 masked youths, wielding sharp weapons, vandalised the market building and attacked the vendors. They chased and assaulted some vendors who tried to run away. This speaks volumes how prepared we are for the nightlife system.”
