Karnataka   

No decision yet on extending bar timings

BANGALORE: The State Government has not taken a decision on a proposal of the Tourism Department to extend the closing time of bars and pubs in Bangalore from the present 11.30 p.m. to 1 a.m.

The Tourism department has sent a proposal to the Home and the Excise Departments to extend the timings of the bars and pubs and this proposal has reportedly received the nod of the Home Department. The ball is now in the court of the Excise Department to either give a favourable consent or turn down the proposal.

Secretary, Department of Kannada and Culture and Tourism, I.M. Vittalamurthy has mooted the proposal of extending the bar timings. Initially, the Tourism Department had suggested that the extension in bar timings could be limited to five-star hotels. However, when the news spread, the Department was flooded with requests from various associations in the liquor trade to extend the timings for all liquor outlets such as pubs, bars and even wine stores.

Confirming this to The Hindu, Mr. Vittalamurthy said: “It is a move to throw open the nightlife in Bangalore and create new horizons for the development of tourism in the city, especially in the main business centres such as Majestic, Kempe Gowda Road, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Brigade Road, Commercial Street and few other areas.” He said the city hardly had any night life to show to the tourists. Delhi, Mumbai and Pune had amended Excise rules and extended bar timings.

Incidentally, there is nothing new in the proposal of the Tourism Department. A similar proposal was made when the S.M. Krishna Government was in power and it was repeated again during the tenure of N. Dharam Singh and H.D. Kumaraswamy. During the Krishna Government, an attempt was also made to sell beer in grocery stores and this was shelved after public protest. The State unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party has threatened to launch an agitation if the Government gives into the demand of the Tourism Department.

Joint Commissioner (Excise) H.P. Erappa told The Hindu that the proposal of the Tourism Department was restricted to star hotels where foreign tourists and businessmen stay.

“The idea is to extend liquor availability to tourists who arrive late in the city. There is no proposal to extend blanket permission to all bars, pubs and liquor shops,” he said.

Sources in the Home Department said the proposal for extension of business hours for all pubs and bars had been pending for a long time with the government and that the matter was still under consideration.

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