Commissioner against extending deadline

Commissioner against extending deadline
DH News Service, Bangalore:
City Police Commissioner N Achutha Rao on Monday said the proposal to extend the closing time of bars and pubs could lead to law and order problems as there was acute shortage of police personnel in the city.


Mr Rao said that Bangalore has been facing a shortage of police personnel for past few years.

“Unlike New Delhi and Mumbai which has a police strength of 70,000 and 33,000 policemen Bangalore at present has only 16,000 policemen,” he said.

The Tourism Department had recently sent a proposal to the Home and the Excise Departments seeking to extend the closing time of the bars and pubs in the city from the present 11.30 pm to 1 am. The Commissioner said extending the closing time without increasing the police strength would have its implications on the law and order situation and also encourage illegal activities.

“Our policemen are already working in two shifts and we are facing a shortage. A proposal has been made before the government for an add-itional 15,000 policemen,” he said.

Mr Rao added that the decision to extend the closing timing was before the Excise Department and if the Government wished, it could implement the new timing after increasing the police strength. The Com-missioner denied the reports that the seven alleged terrorists who have been arrested by the police from across the state had planned to attack IT Companies in the City.

No threat

He said there was no perceivable threat and that no IT firm had received any terror threat. “However, the police as a precautionary measure has been conv-ening meetings with the top brass of IT companies, owners of Mall’s and Cyber Cafes,” he said.

PUB TIMING

*Commissioner against extending pubs deadline
*Cites shortage of police personnel
*Extending pubs’ closing time could lead to law & order problems
*Would encourage illegal activities
*Proposal before the government for an additional 15,000 policemen