Lack of night life makes Secunderabad pale in front of its dazzling twin

HYDERABAD: Even though Hyderabad enjoys the status of a cosmopolitan city, its twin sister Secunderabad - once the habitat of nobles and knights – seems to be living a conventional life without night outs and knees-ups, even no bistros open to have a chinwag over dinner.

All commercial establishments are shut even as early as 10:30 pm, forcing epicureans to travel all the way to Cyberabad to find something to eat or even to sip a cup of chai.

Citizens in Secunderabad complain that even petrol bunks in many parts are closed before midnight, barring a few in major junctions.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Dr. Ahmed Ashfaq, an orthodontist who is also a food blogger, said the only food joints open at nights were near DLF, food trucks near Hitec city and at most drive-ins in Cyberabad.

“There definitely is a dearth of food joints in the city, especially the Secunderabad side. Though Sindhi colony’s street food scene is good where you get things like dabeli, vada pav and live sodas, sadly most of these places are closed by 10.30 pm max,” he said.

However, when asked about the nightlife and eateries, joint police commissioner of Rachakonda Sudheer Babu said that shops were given timings while applying for a license and they had to function according to that.

“According to the City Police (CP) Act and government guidelines, shops are asked to close by 10:30 pm or 11 pm. These timings are also determined by the license they get during their opening. When it comes to night patrolling parties, a Zonal NSO (Night Supervisor Officer) of DCP/ACP level is on duty every night who caters to the entire commissionerate jurisdiction. The officer monitors everything and ensures that the shops are closed by the given timings. If found open, a photo of the place is taken and they are prosecuted under the CP Act,” explained the official.

While many faced issues with finding a place to eat, several IT employees also complained about how petrol stations were closed before midnight. “I travel from Jubilee Hills to ECIL every day on my bike and my work often gets late to post midnight. The last petrol station I can find is at Patny, as all the other ones on the Karkhana-Trimulgherry stretch are shut by midnight,” said Rajesh Sahoo, a private employee.

Sudheer Babu said petrol stations and their timings either depended on the government orders or the management's decision. “They also close on their own based on employees and customer headcount during certain hours or at night and the management decides on that,” he said.