Why this area in Indore will soon stay open 24 hours

A large area in Indore, the commercial hub of Madhya Pradesh, will soon remain open for 24 hours. The reason: Start-up entrepreneurs want it that way.

From Niranjanpur Square to Rajiv Gandhi Square, a stretch of 11.45km-long Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) corridor, commercial establishments on both sides of the road, including restaurants and hotels, will remain open for 24 hours. This is under the first phase.

Establishments in this area will have to fulfil certain conditions to remain open 24 hours.

• They should install CCTV cameras
• They should register on a mobile app
• They should provide special security to women

Economic activities like food zones and other commercial activities up to 100 metres on both sides of the BRTS will be allowed.

However, no liquor will be served at bars or licensed outlets beyond the currently permissible hours, PTI reported Indore collector Manish Singh as saying.

There are some additional measures the district administration will take.

• Vehicles will not be allowed to blow horn around the BRTS corridor from 12 am onwards for certain hours
• For the convenience of people, there will be a round-the-clock bus service.
• Police personnel will be deployed around the corridor

The BRTS connects the city's IT hub and areas where students, who study late in the night, reside

A portal will be developed so that the outlets which want to run round-the-clock activities can register themselves.

The administration is planning to expand this to other areas of the city if the present experiment succeeds.

The Madhya Pradesh government gave the nod for this move on Wednesday following a request from start-up entrepreneurs at the recent “Start-in-Indore” conference to keep the city open 24 hours.

Ahead of the announcement, the local administration last week held a meeting with police officials, business establishments and elected representatives in Indore to discuss the roadmap.