Bengaluru: The police initiative to turn off the music in pubs and bars has spelt doom for its owners.
Pub and bar owners feel the public war against drugs is understandable but they moan the war against music.
Right now, police are taking action against loud music and timings. They maintain that, there is connection of all this with the drug mafia. They cannot take
anything lightly.
However, the owners of the pubs and bars explain that the guidelines with connection to Public Entertainment License (PEL) was made to check live bands when they were permitted in the city.
There is a difference with the older version of live bands which operated 10 years ago. The pubs and bars have a different ambience altogether, explains Ajay
Gowda, director of Big Brewski and Brewing company.
Ajay Gowda who also owns Bob’s bar in the city explains that, PEL riders were stringent. Pubs and bars should have been kept out from this. “What is a
restaurant without music? There will be a guitar player, a singer and food. Everything is a package,” he says.
Pubs without music are like films without heroine and villain. People love to have a sip of beer with the music playing in the background. They lose business if
music is not played, he adds.
Another owner who does not want to be quoted said, the occupancy certificate has been made compulsory for pubs and bars. “In Bengaluru, you take any
building, whether it’s a corporate office, nursing home, medical store, commercial complex, more than 90% of the buildings don’t have occupancy certificates.
Why only target pubs and bars?” he questioned.
Presently, PEL is provided by the commissioner of police. Pubs are running out of business. If one weekend is lost, the owners will have to face difficulty in
giving salaries.
The office-bearers of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) have met Deputy Chief Minister Dr Ashwathnarayan in this regard.
They have explained their predicament to the DyCM in a memorandum and he has promised to look into the matter.
Manu Chandra, the celebrity chef and NRAI Bengaluru chapter President when asked about the developments explained that the police department is following
through on the orders of music being played without the requisite PEL, for which they were in touch with the last government and commissioner; and have made
a representation to the new government too.
“The difficulty in obtaining this licence is well covered already, and we are confident that the government will see merit in this and create clear distinctions in
types of music and entertainment. Currently, everything falls only into a single block. There are no cancellation or closure notices for establishments,” he said.
A city without its music is barren. We cannot let the music hub of the country go silent, underlined Manu Chandra.
It is estimated that there are 350 restaurants in the city which have complete activity of food, music and drinks. The pubs, bars and restaurants put together have created job opportunities to 1.50 lakh people directly and another 75,000 are indirectly employed. It’s a question of livelihood of 2.25 lakh people.
However, the police are in no mood to listen to the woes of pubs, bars and restaurant owner’s woes. It is to be seen if they will get relief with the intervention of DyCM Dr Ashwathnarayan.
