Almost 85% of the eateries in Pune have installed CCTV cameras as a safety measure that the police had asked them to follow after the serial low-intensity blasts on the Jangli Maharaj road last year. The city police had sent a notification to all hotels and restaurants directing them to take security measures after the blasts. Representatives of restaurant associations said the police had made it mandatory for restaurants to install CCTV cameras in and around their premises. Authorities also conducted regular checks to make sure that restaurants complied with the rule.
Industry sources however said that very few had installed metal detectors in their restaurants, as police directives had made it mandatory only for lodges-not restaurants- that had more than a specific number of rooms to install metal detectors. Roopraaj Shetty, vice president of Pune Restaurants and Hoteliers Association said, “Our association regularly follows up with its member restaurants, all of which have installed CCTV cameras. Even lodges have to comply with the metal detector norm, as police refuse new licenses to lodges that do not have metal detectors.”
Ganesh Shetty, president of Pune Restaurants and Hoteliers Association said that almost all restaurants in the city installed CCTV cameras after the blasts, barring small eateries that cannot afford the equipment. “Police had made it mandatory to beef up security in and around eateries after the JM road blasts. They had even directed restaurants to install cameras at the entrance so that they could capture the activity on the road outside. Many restaurants had already begun installing CCTV cameras after the German Bakery blast as the camera outside a Koregaon park hotel played a very important role in providing police with leads about the bakery blast,” he said.
