Chill out in pub city but keep it quiet, guys!

They are the watering holes of the city, drawing the young by hordes  and contributing immensely to its buzzing nightlife. Today  Pub City Bengaluru has  nearly 700 pubs lining its busy commercial roads like Church Street and Brigade Road in the Central Business District and even the bylanes of its residential neighbourhoods.

But while the pubs have  become a part and parcel of the city culture, visited by the young and happening, behind the good times they offer is a story of increasing struggle as the owners try to cope with the rising hostility of people in the residential localities they have moved into and the recent police raids.

With the police launching a war on drugs, the pubs are being raided more frequently of late on suspicion of allowing their use on their premises by their young clients.   They are also raided for other reasons. Only recently the  police raided three pubs in Indiranagar  on the orders of the High Court following complaints about loud music from the locals

As many as eight Resident Welfare Associations of the area have come together to fight the pubs in the locality and have  petitioned the High Court against them. In response, the court  asked the police to check the loud music and the raids followed .But even before  the police began swooping down on them for drugs and to check the playing of loud music late into the night, the pubs did not have it easy, having to obtain clearance from 11 agencies, which they complain, forces them to run from one to the other. Instead they are keen on a single window agency being set up to give them all the required clearances and make their lives a lot easier. They have the support of those who frequent them. Take  Neha Albert, who runs a company in the city and likes to unwind in pubs, who points out that  not all pubs are dubious. “There are some that are shady,  especially in Koramangala and Domlur, and the younger lot must avoid them. But as they supply cheap alcohol  they go to them and get into trouble. But when we dec
ide to go to a pub we  take a considerable amount of time in choosing it,” she says.

 Unhappy,with what she calls “police brutality,” she says once a raid takes place, the cops simply round up everyone  present in the pubs without bothering to make any inquiries. “So those frequenting pubs  should know their rights. We should take care where we  spend our time, ” she suggests.

Ask the police about the complaints from the pubs and their visitors about the raids and they say they are under watch for their own safety. “We do night  patrolling till 4 am on weekends with even senior officers, including the commissioner of police on duty, only for the safety of the people,” says an officer.
“The people start coming out of the pubs at 1 am, when they close , but hang around outside with their friends. When police ask them to leave, they have a ready excuse and say they are waiting for a cab,” he adds. 

‘It’s Totally unfair to lock down a pub’

Q: How difficult is it to run pubs and restaurants in Bengaluru?
A: Running pubs and restaurants in Bengaluru is one of the most difficult exercise in the whole of the country. Too many rules, prescriptions, guidelines and clearances to be taken. It’s very, very difficult.

Q:  Which city has a better system in place for pubs?
A:  Mumbai has a single window clearance for pubs and restaurants. It is also a lot more easier in cities like New Delhi and Kolkata. Currently, pub owners in Bengaluru have to procure licenses from the BBMP, fire, police, labour and 11 different agencies of the government. We want single window clearance instead.

Q: What do you think about the raids on pubs by the CCB police in Indiranagar for plying loud music?
A: Basically the raids were conducted by the CCB for sound pollution. The matter is subjudice as it is before the High Court. The concern is the decibel level.  However, the matter is being sorted out.

Q: What  steps are you taking to win the confidence of neighbourhoods?
A:  We are working closely with neighbourhoods as for as noise pollution is concerned. There is no noise pollution now. We are constantly working towards having a harmonious relationship between pub owners and the neighbourhoods.  

Q:  How far is locking down of pubs by agencies tenable?
A: It is totally unfair to lock down a pub. If a vehicle is violating traffic rules it is fined. Likewise, if a pub is violating any rule it should be fined and left to operate.

Q:   How much loss does a pub owner suffer if it is locked down?
A:  If a pub is closed on a weekend, the owner  suffers huge losses. It affects his business for the whole month.

Q:  What action is your association taking against the pubs that violate the rules?
A : The association is working towards compliance of all rules and regulations by all pubs and restaurants. However, the guidelines are archaic. It is 2019 and a lots of things have  changed. The rules need to be changed to suit the present needs and demands.

Manu Chandra is a celebrity chef  and secretary of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), Bengaluru chapter,