Charminar, Old City nightlife suffers

Hyderabad,
Wakeuptelangana

With the Hyderabad police acting tough against hotels and commercial establishments and forcing them to close down early, the night tourism or nightlife in the old city has gone for a toss. Scores of visitors, locals as well as tourists from other parts of the country, are now forced to think twice before visiting the old city after 10 pm. Until a month ago, Charminar vicinities used to bustle with visitors till late at night, recalls Syed Jameel, a businessman. “After a spate of murders in the city, the overenthusiastic cops are closing the area bothering little about the government plans to promote night tourism here,” he says.The gruesome videos of the killings in public and the police thrashing innocent daily wagers for moving on the roads, appears to have created a sense of unease among the public.“People in other parts of the city are presuming that there are night restrictions in the old city and not many are venturing here in the night. It is affecting the businesses here,” complained Mohiuddin, a trader.The shops around Charminar in the past were opened until midnight while group of youngsters and couples, despite police patrolling used to hang around.“People came here to celebrate birthdays, until a month ago. Now we don’t find a single person coming here after 11.30 pm. Don’t know what message the authorities want to send about old city to the people across the country,” lamented Nooruddin, a hotel manager.Social activists feel the image of the old city is getting dented due to over enthusiasm shown by the police department.“In the past, old city was considered unsafe due to frequent communal violence. However, in the last ten years, things have changed and people from other parts of the city were noticed comfortably moving in and around the old city round the clock,” said Mohd Akram, a social worker from Moghalpura adding that now with the restrictions, old city is becoming a ‘no-visit’ place for outsidersMeanwhile, a senior police official working in the south zone of Hyderabad said, the police were acting tough only to ensure safety and security of the citizens. “In recent offences we noticed innocent people were targeted by criminals over small issues. We want people to remain in their houses after midnight,” said the official.