Bidari won't let the party drag

Bidari won't let the party drag
By R Venkatesh, DH News Service, Bangalore:
The new helmsman of the Bangalore police has no plans to relax the Cinderella laws that have been the bane of nightlife in the City...


Within 24 hours of assuming office, the new Commissioner of Police, Shankar Bidari, told Deccan Herald during an informal chat that there would be neither any extension of night deadline for eateries and bars nor relaxation in the laws that govern dance bars.

Bidari, who has carved a niche for himself as a no-nonsense cop, categorically said that it would be wrong to assume that as a new man in the office he would undo whatever his predecessors had done or pass new orders. “I will not dilute any rules to let dance bars proliferate in the City,” he said, adding that his senior officer in May 2005, Ajai Kumar Singh, had taken the stand to ban the dance bars in the interest of Bangaloreans.

“My predecessor Achutha Rao followed suit. They have done what was required of them. I will stand by them and won’t allow the peace and tranquillity of Bangalore to be disrupted.” When asked about some eateries in and around M G Road which enjoyed police patronage and were doing business till early hours, Bidari bluntly said that all were equal in the eyes of law. “I have called a meeting of the officers and will deal with it,” he said.

“I am not an omnipotent officer. I should take my subordinates into confidence and bring out the best. We will do whatever is appropriate for the situation and as the circumstance demands, to earn the goodwill of the public,” Bidari said.

The commissioner also said anti-social elements will be dealt with firmly. He said plans were in the pipeline to tackle the traffic problems in the City. “I will take the public into confidence as they are the ones who use the roads and they will be able to come out with solutions for various problems. Without their involvement, it is impossible to find a way out of the traffic mess.”