| The Barista outlet at Lokhandwala where men are allowed to sit in the space outside |
| Maaninee Misshra |
| Sai Deodhar, Kanchi Kaul, Narayani Shastri, Mannish Goyal |
| Additional Commissioner of Police (West) Bipin Bihari |
Please don't target women at cafes!
In an open letter, actress Maaninee Misshra says the ban on sitting outside the Barista and Cafe Cofee Day outlets in Lokhandwala is grossly unfair
Maaninee Misshra
I am writing this on behalf of all the patrons who frequent popular outlets like Caf Coffee Day and Barista in Lokhandwala. As you must be already aware, a few days ago, the police passed a rule that people should not be allowed to sit outside Barista and Caf Coffee Day outlets in this area because, according to the police, some unwanted elements were using such places 'soliciting customers'. I think this issue has been handled in a grossly unfair manner and I would like to voice my opinion on this issue.
Firstly, the issue is highly sexist. According to the police, certain 'young aspiring actresses' used to frequent the outlets and fix up meetings to lure customers at such outlets. I strongly believe that this is no way of judging the issue, as every single time I have visited the outlets, it was the men who used to leer at the women under the pretext of 'fixing up meetings'.
If it is really a problem of soliciting, it is important to address the root cause of the problem. Soliciting can take place even inside the cafeteria, not just outside. There are so many five-star hotels where such 'soliciting' of customers is rampant. Do the police intend to stop people from frequenting these places too?
In an overcrowded megapolis like Mumbai, we have to respect a person's need for private space. There are already so few places for citizens to interact that people are certainly going to visit every new place that is created. Outlets such as Caf Coffee Day and Barista are considered places of recreation and where people can share their ideas with each other. If such a basic right is denied to already space-starved residents of Mumbai, then, I wonder what will happen to the social fabric of this beautiful city. Furthermore, we are a democracy and freedom of speech and expression is guaranteed to every citizen, which adds to the intellectual capital of the country.
Through this letter I wish to make a humble request to the Mumbai police to consider revoking the ban on sitting outside the Barista and Caf Coffee Day outlets at Lokhandwala.
THE ISSUE
The Oshiwara police received complaints that sex workers were doing business in the area outside coffee shops at the Oshiwara crossing. The police also alleged that people running the coffee shops were hand-in-glove with those soliciting
POLICE ACTION
Additional Commissioner of Police (West) Bipin Bihari has now prohibited Caf Coffee Day, Barista and Fanoos, a Lebanese restaurant, from serving customers in the out yards ( space outside the restaurants)
COFFEE SHOP OWNERS' PLEA
Coffee shop owners say they are only concerned with serving food and it's impossible to tell whether the person is involved in illegal activity. They say they are open to periodical checks by the police but feel closing the out yards will ruin their business.
PATRONS SAY
Customers feel that closing the out yards amounts to depriving them of one of the few places available to them for recreation in Lokhandwala, without effectively doing away with the problem of prostitution
• HERE THIS ONE
* Caf Coffee Day and Barista were anyway allowed to remain open only till 1.30 am and people had obeyed that. But now stopping people from sitting outside because women who solicit used to sit there is absolutely absurd. Prostitution takes place at a much higher level than this. In India people either ignore pertinent issues or react strongly like they have in this case of stopping people from sitting outside coffee shops.
— Sai Deodhar
* I don't think this is the right way to stop prostitution as it can happen anywhere. People who want to solicit will just find some place else to do it. People should not be stopped from sitting there because Mumbai is short of good places to hang out at.
— Kanchi Kaul
* If the police are going to ban everything then I don't know where people are going to be able to go. I think this is a silly way to tackle prostitution if at all it was prevalent as people are going to do what they want to do one way or the other.
— Narayani Shastri
* I have not come across anything illegal or immoral. This is not a good measure towards stopping prostitution. Sitting outside is an enjoyable experience and its wrong to not let people enjoy it. Prostitution is rampant in 5-star hotels and railway stations too. So why target coffee shops?
— Mannish Goyal
* ADDITIONAL COMMISSIONER SAYS
Last month, a visitor who had come to meet me informed me about the happenings at the spot. He said he was having coffee with a friend in the out yard of one of the outlets when he was asked to vacate the table for some special guests. Wondering at the strange request, he waited to see who the special guests were. He saw five people including girls who sat on the same table and left with the women in separate cars a short while later. We had received complaints about the outlets before too and accordingly asked these outlets to restrict their seating capacity up to their premises and not encroach on the footpaths. We do not intend to inconvenience any genuine customers," said Bihari.
He denied that cops were targetting single women or pressuring the outlets to discourage girls from visiting them. "We can't harm anybody's business. We just want everybody to enjoy and have a good time," said Bihari. "In fact, after the clampdown, I received many calls from residents who were happy about the action taken by us," he added.
* Do you think people should be stopped from sitting outside coffee shops? SMS us your views. Key in MVIEW your view followed by your name and send it to 8888
Tum Se Tum Tak
Sampoorna
Jhanak
Shiv Shakti
