Woman in wheelchair says she was denied entry to Gurgaon restaurant. Owner responds
Gurugaon, Feb 13 : Aspecially-abled woman was allegedly denied entry into a famous restaurant in Gurugram, Haryana. In a Twitter post, the woman claimed the staff barred her from entering the restaurant, saying that her presence would “disturb other customers”.
The woman named Srishti took to Twitter to narrate the whole incident in a long thread and it has gone viral online.
Srishti said she had gone out after a very long time with her friend’s family to Raasta in Gurugram on Friday evening. When her friend’s brother went to book a table for them, the restaurant’s front desk ignored him twice and flatly refused the third time. The staff pointed at Srishti’s wheelchair and said, “wheelchair andar nahi jaayegi [the wheelchair can’t go inside].”
At first, they thought that it was an accessibility issue but soon realised what the staff meant. “Andar customers disturb ho jaayenge [the customers inside will get disturbed],” the man at the front desk said, according to Srishti.
“He told us, pointing towards me, that ‘andar customers disturb hojaynge’ [The customers will get disturbed] and denied us entry, with so much ease. This came from the staff of a fancy place,” she wrote.
Partner at Raasta took to Twitter to post an apology.
“We are deeply regretful of the episode that took place at Raasta Gurgaon on Friday evening. We stand for inclusivity and would never want anyone to feel singled out for any reason,” Goumtesh Singh said in a statement.
“As a part of our efforts, we have already reached out to the aggrieved patron to personally apologise to them. We are also taking steps internally to heighten sensitivity and empathy for our staff to ensure this never happens again,” read the statement.
-The India Today
