FACTLY Impact: How Bharat got a Multiplex to arrange FREE Drinking Water to Moviegoers
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 30, 2018
Factly’s article on rules for multiplex/theatres in AP & Telangana helped a citizen report a violation and change things. This is the story of a conscientious citizen who used his awareness of the rules to report a violation and get it fixed when most others like him did not care.
Will awareness of the relevant government laws & rules help? Does it help in changing things around? At Factly, we have always believed that awareness of rules is the first step to engage with the government. We are delighted when citizens utilize the information shared by us and change things around. This is the story of Bharat, a conscientious citizen who got a multiplex to arrange FREE drinking water as per rules.
What do the rules say?
Factly had earlier published a story on the rules governing cinema theatres & multiplexes in Andhra Pradesh & Telangana. One of the licensing conditions for cinema theatres and multiplexes is providing drinking water to patrons as per ‘Andhra Pradesh Cinemas (Regulation) Rules, 1970’. The government has reiterated the same through multiple orders in the past.
What did Bharat do?
Bharat, a resident of L B Nagar in Hyderabad, frequents B V K Multiplex and found that the management was not providing free drinking water to moviegoers. Being a regular reader of Factly, Bharat recollected the relevant rules.
He made a complaint to the Rachakonda Police Commissioner, the concerned licensing authority and under whose jurisdiction the multiplex falls. The complaint was made through WhatsApp. He cited the relevant rules and how his previous complaints to the multiplex management fell on deaf ears.
To their credit, the Rachakonda police immediately passed on the complaint to the Circle Inspector of L B Nagar police station. The inspector spoke to Bharat and understood the relevant rules. He immediately got in touch with the multiplex management who acknowledged the mistake and arranged for drinking water instantly. The inspector shared the pictures of water being arranged by the multiplex.
The inspector also promised to issue notices to other multiplex & theatre owners if they fail to provide drinking water in the future.
“Engage with the system”, says Bharat
Bharat shared his story with Factly and had this to say, “We often fail to pursue such issues due to many preconceived notions and the delay in response or outcome. But today, the promptness in the response from police department surprised me. I did not have to move an inch from my chair to get this sorted. Being an avid follower of articles in Factly, I got to know the of the rules movie theatres in the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have to follow from one of their stories”.
“Every time I go for a movie in BVK Multiplex, I observed that they fail to provide free drinking water despite multiple oral and written complaints. After finding out from Factly about the relevant authority for making a complaint, I lodged a complaint with Rachakonda Police on their WhatsApp number 9490617111. Within a few minutes, I got a call from the Circle Inspector of LB Nagar Police Station and his prompt action immediately resulted in the multiplex management setting up drinking water facility”
“I was pleasantly surprised with how easy and hassle free the entire process was. All it required was a couple of WhatsApp messages. I urge all the citizens to know about such initiatives from the Police department in their locality and use them. I thank Factly team for letting the citizens know of their rights especially with relevant resources. I thank the Rachakonda Police for their WhatsApp initiative and CI of LB Nagar police, P.Kasi Reddy for his prompt action”