Despite police orders, eateries remain open till late at night

Ajay Joshi

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, December 13

Despite the orders by the police authorities to shut down all shops and dhabas before 11 pm at the railway stations, many shops remained open even after midnight. Even in the presence of policemen on routine duties, eateries and kiosks remained open for the customers.

Owing to a rise in crime graph, the police had ordered all vendors, shopkeepers and dhabas operating in the vicinity of the railway station to close their outlets by 11 pm. However, ignoring the orders, they could be seen serving the passengers as well as the commuters after the restricted time. The city is on high alert due to the suspected movement of terrorists in the state and inspections have been carried out at major locations in the city, besides deployment of the Special Operations Group. Hence, the shops that remain open around midnight are more prone to threats as major criminal activities have been noticed near the city railway station..

Among the violators are mostly the eatery junctions. Late night snacks are usually available at these outlets for people who work till late at night and the passengers. A constable from police division 3, who was present on duty, however, said he was not aware of the orders. But SHO Vijay Kumar said there were strict orders from the police commissioner and the police made sure that none of the shops remained open after the scheduled time, and that action would be taken those who violate the orders.

Kulwinder Singh, one of the commuters, said due to the overcharging by vendors inside the railway station, they prefer to buy snacks from stores located outside the railway station but went on to add that he was not aware of the new orders. Pleading anonymity, a shopkeeper said, he kept his store open due to the heavy profits he made through sales late at night.

ADCP (Investigation) Parminder Singh Bhandal said it is due to the security concerns that the shopkeepers have been advised to shut shop by11 pm and assured that action would be taken against the defaulters if found guilty.