Gurugram Pub Denies Entry To Differently Abled Woman; Pooja Bhatt Reacts
Gurugram: A posh restaurant in Gurugram’s Cyber Hub has landed in a controversy after it denied entry to a wheelchair-bound differently-abled woman, allegedly saying that it would “disturb other customers”, a charge refuted by the club management. After Srishty Pandey’s tweets narrating her side of the story gained the attention of the netizens, the manager of Raasta pub, B Madhav claimed the woman was not denied entry but was stopped from going to the dance floor as it was crowded and her wheelchair could have caused an accident.
#WATCH | Gurugram based differently-abled woman Shrishti Pandey alleges to have been denied entry into Raasta Gurgaon in the cyber hub by saying that "wheelchair won't go inside, because it will disturb other customers" pic.twitter.com/M5fb6y5rih
— ANI (@ANI) February 13, 2022
“I went to my @raastagurgaon with my best friend and her fam last night. This was one of my first outings in so long and I wanted to have fun. Bhaiya (my friend’s elder brother) asked for a table for four. The staff at the desk ignored him twice,” Pandey said in a series of tweets on Saturday.
He told us pointing towards me that "andar customers disturb hojaynge" (The customers will get disturbed) and denied us entry, with so much of ease. This came from the staff of a freaking fancy place. 3/n
— Srishti (she/her????????) (@Srishhhh_tea) February 12, 2022
In her tweet thread, Pandey said that at first, she thought it was an “accessibility issue” but was “left shocked” when the staff at the restaurant suggested that her presence “could disturb other customers”.
“He told us pointing towards me that ‘andar customers disturb hojaynge’ (the customers will get disturbed) and denied us entry, with so much of ease. This came from the staff of a freaking fancy place. After a lot of arguing, he told them to get a table outside. The outside seating was ridiculous. It was getting cold. And I can’t sit out in cold for long because my body gets spastic,” she tweeted.
Pandey even posted a video of the argument with the staff of the pub.
— Srishti (she/her????????) (@Srishhhh_tea) February 12, 2022
The club, Raasta, however, claimed facts were being twisted. “We did not deny her any entry but she wanted to go on dance floor with her wheelchair. The floor had steps and was crowded. There could have been an accident and it was important for her safety also,” Madhav told news agency PTI.
Actor-filmmaker Pooja Bhatt reacted to the Twitter thread, saying, “Am terribly saddened that this happened to you. We suffer from an absolute lack of grace as a society. Wheelchair accessibility is one thing but refusing to see a human being who is confined to one as an equal and deserving of dignity is quite another.”
Am terribly saddened that this happened to you. We suffer from an absolute lack of grace as a society. Wheelchair accessibility is one thing but refusing to see a human being who is confined to one as an equal and deserving of dignity is quite another. ????
— Pooja Bhatt (@PoojaB1972) February 12, 2022
Goumtesh Singh, Founder Partner at Raasta, also responded to Pandey’s post and tweeted, “I am personally looking into this incident. Let me start by apologising on behalf of entire team for any bad experience that you may have had. Please rest assured if any of our members are found in the wrong, appropriate action will be taken against them.”
@Srishhhh_tea pic.twitter.com/eQZxqigPNF
— goumtesh Singh (@goumtesh) February 13, 2022
The Gurugram Police too responded to Pandey’s tweet and asked for her contact details.
However, Inspector Pawan Malik, SHO of DLF phase 2 police station, said, “We have not received any complaint yet.”
(With PTI inputs)