"Nightlife in Mumbai is so bad that once a guy comes back from office and decides to unwind in a bar, it's almost closing time." Rahul DÕSouza
Nightlife in Mumbai India
Pub crackdown brings boredom to Mumbai
Mumbai (Bombay)
Nightlife in India's entertainment capital has become deadly dull, youngsters in Mumbai complain as the authorities continue a crackdown on discos and bars that they accuse of corrupting impressionable young minds.
The city's nightlife - not so long ago pulsating, risque and never ending - has become a none-event, they say, ever since officials declared a war on adult fun in August 2005, forcing hundreds of popular dance bars to shut their doors saying they bread crime and prostitution.
After the ban, thousands of dancers found themselves out of work with many moving to other states to earn a living. Others are reported to have become prostitutes. As if that was not bad enough for Mumbai 's party set, police are tightening the grip on the city's ordenary watering holes, asking them to obtain a dozen licenses, pull down the shutters at midnight, and make their guests behave.
"This is moral policing at its best and we don't need any of this", said Sebastian Ambrose, a computer specialist and a regular pub-goer. "They say this city never sleeps. Now Mumbai sleeps by 12. This is boring."
More than 30 pubs have closed in the last two weeks, with the police often kicking out drinkers, as they relaxed after work, and many more look set to follow unless the authorities relent.
Anyone hoping to serve alcohol needs to spennd more time in government offices than pooring drinks, with permits for parking, pest control, the playing of music ( one each for live or recorded sets) and many others needed before opening time.
"A pub owner here has to go from table to table seeking more than a dozen licenses that may take more than a year to obtain," said Kamlesh Barot, secretary of a hotels abd restaurants association.
Bar owners say the crackdown is just an excuse for government officials and the police to collect bribes.
" We don't mind licenses, but the wait should not be endless. Files don't move till officers' palmes are greased," said Jehani Farhang, the director of a south Bomnbay pub.
It is not just the bar owners who are comingunder pressure.
Police are stepping up patrols outside popular nightspots.
" We feel like criminals with police watching over outside the pubs and nightclubs. They have to stop being a bully," said Sanjay Khadas, a young advertising executive.
" The dance bars are gone. Now they are after the bars to ensure there is no entertainment in Mumbai ," said Paritosh Sehgal, a college student.
local Newspapers have gone to town protesting police "excesses", saying officers were spending more time watching over pubs and nightclubs than solving murders, or catching rapists and fraudsters.
"For cops, public is public enemy No.1. said a Headline" in the Times of India." Moral policing is easy to do and gets policemen and politicians a lot of cheap publicity. Never mind that the public enemy becomes the public itself," the newspaper said.
source:
Bangkok Post
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