Congress: Keep grocery shops, medical stores open all night

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The Congress has gone a step ahead of the Shiv Sena in demanding a different kind of nightlife in the city, one that would be beneficial for citizens. The party wants the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to allow shops and small business establishments to remain open throughout the night. On Tuesday, Congress party corporators met municipal commissioner Praveen Pardeshi to discuss the implementation of the policy.

While the Sena has been pushing for malls and restaurants to be kept open throughout the night, the Congressmen said they wanted the stores that provide essentials, small businesses and medical shops to remain open. Leader of Opposition, Ravi Raja, said, "We are not asking for bars and discos to be kept open but grocery stores and other small businesses as it will help citizens. As the notification is already out, we must consider implementing it at the earliest. Even the commissioner has assured us that he will put it into action soon."

The BMC had drafted a policy to allow shops and establishments to remain open at night, after which in January 2018 the state issued a notification amending the Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Services) Act to allow shops, malls, restaurants that do not serve alcohol, to operate through the night. But the policy was never implemented after police cited security reasons.

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