Mumbaikars who call their city the “The City that Never Sleeps” can now do so literally because of this new proposal by the state.

According to The Hindustan Times, the Maharashtra government has approved a proposal to allow shops and restaurants to be open 24×7. From 27 January onwards, several malls and restaurants will be allowed to stay open at all times, without serving any alcohol.

“We have given permission for 24×7 functioning from January 27. Gated communities, primarily with entertainment and food plazas, have been given permissions. We have cautioned the representatives of the establishments to ensure fire-safety compliance and security. Most of the malls have said that they will keep it open on weekends if running it throughout the week is not feasible for them,” said the municipal commissioner Praveen Pardeshi to HT.

The decision had been taken by state tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray and the meeting was attended by the civic chief and commissioner of police Sanjay Barve. Along with them, several representatives of shopping malls, hotels, and restaurants attended the same meeting.

“We thank the tourism minister and his initiative to make Mumbai a successful tourist hub. We have also been suggested in the meeting to put stickers of ‘We are now 24×7’. Some kind of planning will have to be done to prepare the staff, security and other such elements, which will take time,” said Gurbaxish Singh, President of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI).