'Is My Existence a Disturbance?': Disabled Woman Denied Entry by Restaurant

The staff refused to let her in, saying: "Andar customers disturb ho jaayenge."

A woman with a physical disability alleged that she was discriminated against by the staff of the Raasta restaurant at Cyber City in Gurugram on Friday, 11 February, by denying her entry into the eatery.

(Photo altered by The Quint)

A woman with a physical disability alleged that she was discriminated against by the staff of the Raasta restaurant at Cyber City in Gurugram on Friday, 11 February, by denying her entry into the eatery.

The woman named Srishti took to Twitter to describe the series of events that unfolded in a thread.

"I went to @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," her initial tweet read.

Her friend's brother asked for a table for four, but the staff repeatedly ignored him, claimed Srishti.

Upon asking the waiter for the third time, he refused to let the wheelchair in, saying, as Srishti wrote in her tweet: "Andar customers disturb ho jaayenge (the customers inside may be disturbed)."

The four guests were given a table outside eventually, although the cold weather was not conducive for Srishti due to her health condition.

In her last couple of tweets, she described the basis on which she was denied entry.

"Should I stop going out at all only then? Because apparently I don't belong with others. Because I'm a "disturbance" for others. Because their moods apparently get "ruined" after looking at me."

Srishti

"I am heartbroken. Awfully sad. And I feel disgusted," Srishti added.

Goumtesh Singh, Founder Partner at Raasta Restaurants, responded to Srishti's tweets, apologising for the incident on behalf of the entire team. He said he was personally looking into the matter and that appropriate action would be taken against the staffers who were responsible.

Twitter Erupts in Ire

Soon after Srishti posted the tweets, netizens reacted, with most of them terming the incident 'shameful' and 'illegal.'

Gurguram Police responded to Srishti's tweet as well, asking for her details for further course of action.

Actress Pooja Bhatt replied to Srishti's tweet, saying that she was terribly saddened to hear about the incident. "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," she added.

Filmmaker Onir retweeted Srishti's thread, saying how the said incident "was so so wrong."

"As a society, we fail being inclusive in every possible way," his comment further read.

Neelesh Misra called for a boycott of the Raasta by the Gurgaon populace. "If my work has ever brought you any joy, do me this favour. Decency can't be taken for granted," he stated.

A host of other journalists and activists too called out the restaurant for its misconduct, seeking explanation and demanding strict action against those responsible.