If the word pub happily walks hand-in-hand with the Garden City, it’s only apt as the Soho-like quarters across its length and breath bustle with tippling havens. But India’s original pub city has been causing quite a nuisance for its residents in the recent past. The rampant commercialisation of pubs and bars around residential areas are giving sleepless nights to residents, and even the youngsters are annoyed by this.“Weekends in Indiranagar are a nightmare. The traffic, accompanied by the loud music from the pubs, makes it unbearable.
“Also drunk, irresponsible people make matters worse and unsafe at times,” says Sutanu Guha, a 24-year-old video editor who lives on Indiranagar’s busy 100 Feet Road.
Sutanu Guha
Residential areas comprise of people who look for privacy and a sense of quiet and security. This sense of security and privacy is often hampered by the noise that comes from adjacent pubs.
“The pubs and bars should shut at a proper time. They should not give in to requests of a commercial nature. Also, if the people start creating a ruckus, it is the duty of the pub owners to let the police know of such issues,” says Sumita Mitra, a 52-year-old housewife living near MG Road.
For people who work night shifts, they look for some quiet time. But instead, they are greeted with blaring music that comes out of pubs. “I work for an MNC, so there are times when I come back home late at night, around 12.00 or 12.30 am. On a Saturday night, when I am looking for a good night’s sleep, I am greeted with blaring music coming from the pubs close by,” says Anirban Bhattacharjee, an IT professional, who lives near Sony Signal, Koramangala fourth Block.
People mainly choose to live in residential areas for the privacy and security reasons. But the privacy and security is often hampered by the loud noises coming from the neighbourhood. “I work in a hospital so I come home late very often, and when I reach home, I want nothing more than to sleep. But that is often interrupted by the loud noises created by drunken people who decide to continue their party on the streets,” says Ankita Dawn, a 25-year-old psychologist.
The ‘Pub Capital of India, a moniker the city earned in the 1990s for the sheer number of pubs that sprang up in that decade, has stayed with it despite the pre-midnight closing deadline for bars. The pub scenario has seen some changes, and the people too, are trying to adapt. When a few pub owners were contacted, they refused to comment.
