Parramatta councillor Prabir Maitra with restaurant owner Avtar Singh. PICTURE: JOHN APPLEYARD
WHEN the Advertiser met one of Harris Park’s leading restaurateurs, he was still forlorn over the beating businesses had taken in the suburb following the week of unrest.
Avtar Singh’s signature Indian restaurant Billu’s was feeling the pinch as regular clients kept away from the troubled suburb.
``The bookings are really down there aren’t any for Saturday as yet,’’ Mr Singh said on Friday.
That was two days into relative peace on the streets of Harris Park after three days of tension as Indian students protested over a perceived rise in attacks on them.
Mr Singh estimates he has lost more than $5000 in revenue.
``It will take a while for people to start coming back,’’ he said.
Many of his customers come from outside the area, drawn by the fine Indian cuisine and atmosphere.
But it was not only Indian food which draws people to Harris Park, but also the Lebanese sweets across the road from Billu’s and the fine dining Greek restaurant around the corner.
Mr Singh said he ``completely rejected’’ any notion that there was racial tension in Harris Park, a view shared by Parramatta local area commander Supt Robert Redfern.
``We have lived in peace and harmony for a long time,’’ Mr Singh said.
He agreed with police that students who were attacked were victims of ``opportunistic’’ crime with the perpetrators from different ethnic backgrounds. Mr Singh said he was confident the suburb would return to peace after attending the crisis meetings.
He said ``everyone had been praising’’ how police had responded to the trouble and urged anyone who was attacked to report the crime.
PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS
Ways to make Harris Park safer for all have come out of a series of meetings following the protests of Indian students last week.
They come two years after police and community leaders met in Harris Park to address a spike in crime where similar solutions were discussed.
They are:
* Installation of cctv cameras in the area and better lighting, through Parramatta Council;
* Formation of a committee consisting of five students and six businessmen and local leaders to regularly meet with the police;
* Educating the students to report crime incidents to police.
Students are also calling for police needs to ``proactively investigate and identify the 30 or so group of youths who seem to be causing these muggings and egg throwing incidents and take strict action against them’’, according to one of their leaders.
