Five years ago, a woman in the Guwahati was bitten by a rat while watching a movie, and she had to undergo treatment following which the authorities of the cinema hall have been ordered to provide compensation.
The case was heard by The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Kamrup, on April 25 and ordered representatives of the Galleria Cinema in Guwahati to pay the woman a total of Rs 67,282.48 as reimbursement for her medical costs, compensation for pain and mental anguish, and the cost of the case’s legal proceedings.
Post the incident, the woman, an academician had immediately complained to the consumer’s forum about the cinema hall operator’s lack of customer care.
The woman stated in her official complaint that on October 20, 2018, she and her family had attended the 9 p.m. screening at Guwahati’s Galleria Cinema. After the Interval, she felt something bite her foot. She immediately left the theatre and proceeded to a nearby private hospital when the movie theatre staff reportedly refused to provide her first aid or any other kind of assistance.
According to Anita Verma, complainant’s lawyer “The doctors later confirmed that the complainant was bitten by a rat, not a snake, and gave her anti-rabies and other medicines.”
As the cause of the bleeding was unknown, the hospital kept her under observation. The complainant also claimed that having to take high amounts of medication had a negative impact on her productivity at work.
The woman said that the theatre was extremely filthy and that garbage, including empty bottles and boxes of popcorn, had gathered behind the seats. She complained of Cinema hall owners and staff not maintaining cleanliness.
