Will consider 1 am deadline for Bengaluru pubs: D K Shivakumar

Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar hinted at allowing pubs to stay open until 1 am in Bengaluru, in Legislative Council on Thursday.

Shivakumar, the Bengaluru City Development Minister, intervened during the reply by Excise Minister R B Thimmapur to a question by BJP member H S Gopinath on timings for pubs in the city.

With existing norms, pubs which have micro breweries, are allowed to operate between 10 am and 11.30 pm. In the reply to the House, the excise minister stated that 11 cases were registered against pubs in the city in the last three years for violating norms by functioning beyond 11.30 pm.

Gopinath questioned the “double standards” by the department and said,

“This condition is contrary to the order issued by the government allowing all establishments to function till 1 am.”

“Business establishments are facing harassment in the name of circulars issued by the government. We will soon resolve this problem,” Shivakumar assured.

According to the order issued by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) in August 2024 following an announcement by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in his 2024-25 budget to extend nightlife in Bengaluru till 1 am, the rule applies to “CL-4 (clubs), CL-6 (A) (star hotel), CL-7 (hotel and boarding house) and CL-7D (hotels and boarding houses owned by the person belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes)... those with CL-9 (refreshment room bar)”.

Data shows that in Bengaluru, there are over 57 independent RVB (retail vend of beer) pubs and 699 attached RVB pubs.