Bangalore's pubs feel the heat

Bangalore's pubs feel the heat
10 Nov, 2007, 0100 hrs IST, TNN

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Unlike TS Eliot’s poetic pub-owner who gently repeated "Time, Time" to indicate to the clientele that the premises would be closed for the day, Bangalore’s cops have been known to barge into bars and restaurants at 11.30 pm and round up people who do not finish eating and drinking by the stipulated deadline.

There have even been instances where those eating and drinking in pubs and restaurants after the deadline of 11.30 pm have been arrested and had their morality questioned.

The cops in India’s Silicon Valley presumably believe in the adage that "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise", though a humourist replaced the last two words of that saying with "and apt to mention it"! Which could be why some Bangaloreans who like to drink and dine out in a leisurely manner cite the instance of Delhi where bars and restaurants can now remain open till 1 am. These Bangaloreans feel there is no reason why India’s Garden City cannot follow such a capital example.

The Karnataka government’s tourism department has requested an extension of closure timings in five-star hotels. However, the state police and excise departments are against the idea. With the police being tasked to ensure that all Bangalore bars and restaurants are closed at 11.30 pm, any extension of closure timings is being perceived as a prolonging of duty hours for police patrols.

"Apart from keeping a vigil at pubs and restaurants, we have to patrol deserted roads," TNN quoted a senior police official as saying. However, the cops need not keep a tight vigil on pubs and restaurants if their owners take responsibility for the behaviour of their clients, something they would be willing to do in the interests of their own business.

Given goodwill on all sides, India’s Silicon Valley cops need not behave like those working for a nanny or a naani state! The deadline for even Cinderella was midnight and not 11.30 pm!