Internet café users in Sharjah are disgruntled over the decision taken by the government that requires the cafés to close at 10pm.


Customers at an Internet café in Sharjah play games. ©Gulf News
The customers say it is the only free time they have to get in touch with their dear ones back home, and the café owners feel that it has hampered their business drastically.

The Sharjah Department of Economic Development at the request of Sharjah Police issued a circular on April 17.

The circular reads: "All Internet cafés in the emirate should close their businesses by 10pm. The cafes should remove partitions between computer equipment. Computers should be placed in a clear area and should not be connected to TV sets. The glass of the main door of cafés should not be tinted."

Sultan Abdullah Al Marzouqi, Director of the Licensing Department at the Economic Development Department, said they have collected complaints received by Internet cafés and the matter is under consideration.

"We are looking into the matter and most probably an amicable solution will be taken that will be approved by all parties involved - the public, Internet café users and government departments," he said.

Jimmy G. Bhagatsingh, an Indian, who is a part-time network administrator, described the new timings as unfair. "It is going to affect not only customers, but also business as well. I am a working person. The only time I can access the Internet is at night. I can't afford to connect the facility at home," he said.

Sayed Abrar Ahmad, a Pakistani employed as a civil draftsman, said: "I do not have a computer or Internet connection at home. Hence I am a regular visitor to Internet cafes. As it is economically not feasible to make international calls all the time I correspond with my loved ones through the Internet. It's very cheap."

A student who did not want to be named said it would definitely affect his studies. "I am a student of distance learning. I visit the Internet café because I do some research on the Internet, which takes me three or four hours every day," he said.

Raj Nair, an Indian who works as a supervisor in an Internet café, said: "We get the maximum number of customers after 10pm. Neither the customers nor we have any clear idea about the new rule. We simply inform customers that it is a government order and that we need to abide by it."

Another Internet café owner who preferred not to be named said he had invested Dh150,000 to open a café and now the new timings have hit the business hard.

"The authorities should reconsider their decision. Even if I want to sell off my business no one is going to buy it. The decision has also raised suspicions about our credibility among customers," he said.