This section closed

DIRTY DANCING
THIS SECTION CLOSED
The dance floors are empty in the city’s night spots. All thanks to some archaic, confusing rules
The Times of India

IT came without warning for Bangalore’s party people. While the city thought it was the dance bars that were being put under the scanner and being shut down for flouting rules, the sign on the dance floor of all the night clubs read: This Section Closed.

Dancing has ceased in all clubs and pubs, thanks to the confusion in the rule books. Dance floors have remained closed for over a week, leaving party animals to jive, hip, hop and shake in whatever other innocuous space they find. “The rules are contradictory, and while we do want to go by the rules, the conflict actually leaves us with no business to run,” says Rajanna, who runs a night club in the city.

Others in the nightclub business echo the same view. “We respect the law and have full faith in the commissioner and the police force. We do not want to flout the law, which is why we’ve closed off our dance sections. But we are severely affected by the conflict between the excise rules and police laws. The police aren’t really bothered about the liquor being served. What we are required to do is get an amusement licence to have a dance floor and even a DJ playing. But this comes with certain clauses that clash with the excise rules, which allow us to serve liquor,” says Deep Biswas, who owns a nightclub in the city.

“Under the amusement licence, we are required to get permits from the fire department, BESCOM and other civic agencies; we’re are expected to have multiple entry and exit points. But the excise rule says that we have to have only one entry and exit point if we are to serve liquor. Obviously, there’s a contradiction here and we are suffering because of the lack of clarity,” says Rajanna.

“We are being equated with dance bars and that’s not fair. I even overheard a policeman say, ‘There also they dance, here also they dance; clubs are worse, because here men and women dance’. We can’t have this equation. Bangalore has matured as a city and clubbing has no negative associations. People come here to lounge and relax. Nothing untoward happens anywhere on the dance floor. Those days are gone,” says Deep.

“It’s an absurd situation,” exclaims German textile buyer Marvin G, who was left with no place to shake a leg on Wednesday night. “You expect a city like Bangalore to be more mature about handling a situation like this. I come to this city even though the textile mills are in another. I transact all businesses here because I liked the decent night life here,” he says.

Too much is at stake, says Deep. “The foreign exchange revenue generation at night clubs is huge and and it’s something we can’t lose out on,” he adds.

Meanwhile all the club owners have come together and formed the Bangalore Resto-Lounge Bar and Discotheque Owners Association to seek some clarity on the situation from the authorities. And to give Bangaloreans a good time, too!