Mohandas Pai raises concern over Zomato taking cash at Bryan Adams concert, says ‘consumers should have the choice…’

A Gurugram concert by Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams descended into chaos earlier this month as food and drink stalls insisted on cash payments. The situation was first highlighted by a platinum ticket fan —with TV Mohandas Pai and other influential voices also joining calls for an explanation from Zomato. 

“Will Zomato please explain this and promise to never again insist on cash payments for any event managed by them or anybody associated with them. Consumers should have the choice,” he insisted in response to the original post. 

Pai also noted that such allegations can raise questions about “proper counting” for a listed company such as Zomato. He also voiced concern that the money raised from these events — if dealt in cash — is likely to go unnoticed.

“If the other co insists only on cash how will they get their full share? (sic)” he asked.

Zomato Ltd shares closed 2.29 per cent lower at ₹281.85 after Friday’s trading session, compared to ₹288.45 at the previous market close. 

What was the payment issue?

The video shared by Akassh Ashok Gupta showed people facing issues as they struggled to buy food and drinks due to a coupon system that only accepted cash. Gupta’s post alleges that the agency executing the event was trying to avoid paying taxes by receiving money in cash. 

The post also alleged that the card machines or UPI PoS machines were working”perfectly”, but the staff insisted on cash payments, citing internet issues. Gupta claimed that the company was trying to avoid paying taxes. 

The Bryan Adams event was organised by Zomato Live and was executed by an agency which was not named in the social media post. 

“I decided to confront the situation assertively, calling out the staff, questioning their actions, and reminding them that such practices wouldn’t go unnoticed. I even hinted at going live, which quickly resulted in a change—within minutes, the machines were operational again,” said Gupta. 

Gupta also said that he paid ₹2,000 to prove that cash was not needed for the payment. “This incident underscores how systemic corruption impacts us all and shows the power of assertive action,” he said in his post.