Nightlife in City gets a year's extension

The State gov­e­r­nment on Friday decided to permit eateries to operate till 1 am on all days of the week and bars till 1 am on weekends (Friday and Saturday) in Bangalore City for the next one year.

The Excise commissioner will issue an order in this regard in a couple of days.

The decision to extend the deadline for the next one year was taken at a meeting chaired by chief secretary Kaushik Mukherjee that was attended by Excise commissioner and Bangalore City Police Commissioner and top authorities of the Revenue department.

It was decided to recommend to the State government to extend nightlife in Bangalore from June 6, 2014, till June 14, 2015, said sources in the Home department.

The State government decided to extend the closure deadline for bars and pubs and eateries in the City after a series of meetings with various stakeholders.

The extension of deadline was effected on an experimental basis on March 3 for a period of three months.

Bangalore City Police Commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar presented the case on behalf of the police department. He told the meeting that the crime rate did not increase, as was presumed, after the deadline was extended.

Hence, there was no objection from the police for the extension, added the sources.

At present, eateries have been permitted to operate till 1 am on all days of the week, while pubs and bars have been permitted to operate till 1 am only on Fridays and Saturdays. 

There is no change in the order and it will be implemented for another one year, Auradkar added.

The chief secretary will submit the minutes of the meeting and a report to the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for approval.

After obtaining orders from the chief minister, the Excise commissioner will issue an order.