The usually bustling lobby of Chennai’s Park Hotel wears a deserted look. A handful of guests are watching My Fair Lady on a large muslin screen. Uncertainty is written on the faces of the guests who have been told to clear out by tomorrow by Chennai’s moral police, which raided the hotel and withdrew its licence after local newspapers carried photos of dancing couples at an MTV bash. ‘‘We have told our guests not to be too anxious,’’ Sumitha Menon, associate director, public relations, Park Hotel, told The Indian Express. She said there were foreign tourists and guests who have booked up to even six months. ‘‘We have told them they have nothing to worry and they need not bother looking for accommodation elsewhere,’’ she added. The Madras High Court has stayed the Police Commissioner’s order withdrawing licence to the hotel, but only till October 1 when the court takes up the case for hearing. The hotel landed in trouble after Tamil dailies carried photographs of a September 24 party. The hotel said the photographers had gatecrashed. The hotel cancelled a fashion show scheduled for today and bouncers looked warily at visitors. ‘‘Things are rather quiet inside,’’ said a guest from the US, who is on a two-week business trip. He has been at the hotel for a week and has one more to go. ‘‘But we are not worried. I am sure everything will be fine,’’ he said. Chennai Police Commissioner R Nataraj told this newspaper on Thursday that the five-star hotel did not possess a ‘public resort licence’ and is flouting certain licence rules. The first newspaper to carry the photos was Tamil Murasu, an eveninger, that belongs to the Sun TV group, owned by the family of Union Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran.
