Bengaluru: The gloom has lifted and the zing is back in the city’s nightlife with the Supreme Court allowing the renewal of liquor licenses in municipal areas and giving a fresh lease of life to pubs and bars on M G Road, Brigade Road and nearby areas, which were facing threat of closure.
With the court clarifying that its last order banning sale of liquor within 500 metres of national and state highways did not apply to municipal areas, the excise department has already begun the process of renewing the licenses. “Orders have been sent to the deputy commissioners and revenue deputy commissioners to initiate the process to renew the licenses,” said joint excise commissioner, Rajendra Prasad.
Pub owners were expectedly jubilant and hoped to re-open their outlets by next week. “The entire city is celebrating. We are happy and relieved. Everyone is busy with the Ganesha Chaturthi festival, but we are expecting things to be back on track by next week. All our staff, who had left following the ban, will be back at work soon,” said Mr Ashok Sadhwani, owner of The Pub World, which was shut down on July 1 following the Supreme Court’s ban on sale of liquor near highways. With M G Road and other roads in the heart of the city being classified as highways, all pubs in these parts were either expected to close or move to other localities.
But the Supreme Court’s clarification has come as a shot in the arm for these outlets, which are mainly responsible for Bengaluru’s reputation of a Pub City.
