No Saturday night fun in Hauz Khas Village

For years now,Hauz Khas Village,brimming with designer stores and multi-cuisine restaurants,had been the ‘it place’ for weekend fun in the capital.

Confusion prevailed after 8 pm,as the crowd which had descended on the tiny village since the afternoon was forced to call it an early night or find other places to party. A few decided to dine at restaurants that were still open.

By 9 pm,the village wore an abandoned look,and the city’s party crowd were left to contemplate other options.

“I usually dine at The Living Room Cafe,but it is closed for the weekend. We will now be heading to Defence Colony,” Pronoy Roy,a regular at the village,said.

“I came to eat at Fat Ninja,but the manager told me they will only open in an hour. I waited for an hour,and then they told me that they were closed for the day. It is really unfair,” Kanika Oberoi,another regular at the cafe,said.

In the afternoon,though,things were different. Barring seven-eight restaurants,most eateries were open and the owners said they didn’t “foresee any possibility of a shutdown”.

“We haven’t received any notice from any authority asking us to close or received any instruction to that effect from police. So we are open for business,” Rija,general manager at Verve,said.

Some even claimed to have not received any showcause notice from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).

“The DPCC submitted to the NGT that they had issued showcause notices to all restaurants,but many of us haven’t received it. The few restaurants which were closed are not shut on account of the NGT order,but because they lack other licences,” Ankit Pasricha,owner of Zo,said.

By evening,the mood changed drastically. The DPCC,which was supposed to serve the notice to restaurants in the morning,did so only by 7.30 pm.

Business in the village is expected to take a hit as restaurants earn the most revenue during the weekend. “Our average revenue on a typical weekend is around

Rs 1.5 lakh-Rs 2 lakh. So,this week is going to be bad for business,” Rija said.

Many owners felt the clampdown was unfair. “We understand that there is a problem,but forcing us to close our restaurants is not the right way to deal with it. We are in the process of installing the necessary treatment plants,but the authorities should give us some time to do so,” Nitin Sondhi,general manager,The Golconda Bowl,said.