FOR the proprietor of Deepka Indian Restaurant in Raymond Terrace, the past few years have been a significant struggle to survive in business.

Things have recently become much more difficult due to what appears to be a targeted campaign of harassment by a group of young people from the area.

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Dharampal Ratra has worked as a restauranter for almost 50 years in Australia and overseas.

He immigrated with his family 33 years ago, establishing an Indian restaurant in Tamworth which he operated for 20 years.

Approximately five years ago Mr Ratra and his wife made the decision to find a new opportunity closer to Newcastle University to remain close to their grown children.

“We were only here two years before the pandemic made everything very difficult,” Mr Ratra reflected.

“Since then I have had a lot of trouble finding people to work.”

Mr Ratra has had sporadic help from local casual employees, and has been willing to sponsor migrant workers but has been unable to find suitably trained staff for some time.

“I work everyday by myself,” he says, describing the pressure of duties required to maintain his restaurant.

“I clean and I cook and I answer the phone and handle the money.

“It’s becoming too much.”

Unfortunately Mr Ratra’s difficulties have been exacerbated recently by youths who seem to have selected his establishment as a favourite target of anti-social behaviour.

Beginning on Monday 8 October, and returning for five days in a row, the youths have allegedly come to the shopfront to bang on windows and locked doors, throw pieces of outdoor furniture across the courtyard and have targeted Mr Ratra himself on several occasions, including throwing footwear at him.

“On the first day they came into the restaurant and asked for food and drinks, but they had no money.

“I asked them to leave.

“After that they have come everyday, banging on the doors and making a mess outside.”

Footage captured by security cameras on site show the youths arriving at the restaurant on five separate occasions in the one week.

Each time they peer inside the restaurant before forcibly shaking a locked door, then running away.

They return each time and loiter in the courtyard outside.

“I know everyday that they come after the bus has arrived.

“Anytime after four o’clock they come.”

Mr Ratra has reported these instances to local police, but it is not the first time that he has had to deal with this kind of situation.

For the past few months the restaurant has been plagued by a series of harassing phone calls in which an unidentified caller has spoken nonsense and made vague threats against Mr Ratra.

Approximately two months ago, Mr Ratra’s restaurant was vandalised when young people tore a lighting cable from his storefront.

This incident was again captured by security cameras, with the footage revealing a group of four or five youths – two of them girls – climbing onto the roof of the restaurant to pull the decorative lighting strip away from the window.

“In all my years of working, I have never experienced this kind of behaviour,” said Mr Ratra, who is deeply frustrated with the lack of consequences.

“The police say they are still looking into all of these things, but there is not much that they can do.”

At present Mr Ratra has at least six incidents being investigated.

Local police declined to comment on the situation.

By Lindsay HALL