The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : No licence for new clubs: Home Minister

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Dec 18, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

No licence for new clubs: Home Minister

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, DEC. 17. The Government has issued orders asking the police not to give any new licence for opening clubs or recreation clubs in the State, especially in the twin cities.

This decision has been taken following complaints that these clubs have become a menace to the public.

Giving this information to the Assembly on Friday in reply to a question tabled by M. Ranga Reddy (Congress), the Home Minister, K. Jana Reddy, however, expressed the Government's helplessness if the courts allowed these clubs. In many cases, the clubs reopened after closure by getting stay orders from courts based on the reports by court-commissioners.

Amendment likely

The activities in the clubs, however, would change soon after the departure of the commissioners. These days, the developers were saying that they would not require a licence at all to open a club. In view of this, the Government was contemplating amending the law, he said and added that he would convene an all-party meeting shortly to take suggestions.

He said in the absence of an effective law, the police were merely conducting raids on the clubs on complaints of indecent activities. He said the licence to Country Club was given by the TDP Government.

Earlier, P. Janardhan Reddy (Congress) spoke of a film hero running clubs in the Banjara and Jubilee hills areas with cabaret dances during nights and of how an Orissa coolie died in film actor Balakrishna's house. Mr. Ranga Reddy complained that clubs had cropped up in residential areas resulting in a family committing suicide recently. M. A. Gafoor, CPI(M), said clubs in Kurnool were allowing matka. Maganti Babu (Congress) and N. Janardhan Reddy (TDP) spoke abut clubs in Eluru and Mahabubnagar.

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