Pune civic body bulldozes 35 illegal pubs, bars; more may be targeted

Pune: Going aggressively after the illegal bars, pubs and restaurants, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) demolished fully or partly around 35 establishments found flouting various rules and regulations, officials said here on Wednesday.

The bulldozing drive by the PMC demolition teams accompanied by a large police force started on Tuesday at some 15 locations and continued for the second day on Wednesday at another 20 venues in and around the city which have blatantly violated the PMC’s rules.

On Tuesday, the PMC razed large portions of the Liquid Leisure Lounge (L3) bar – the venue of a drugs party which led to a huge public and political uproar. On Wednesday the PMC targeted major names like Escobar, The Elephant, FML, The Corner Café, Urbi, Filament, Bru Merchant, Native-The Joy, and Vaishali bars, among others.

After Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s directives two days ago, civic officials -- who have reportedly prepared a list of some 100 establishments -- indicated that the campaign against all kinds of illegalities at these venues will continue over the coming days.

Pune Congress MLA Ravindra Dhangekar, who has almost single-handedly hounded the unauthorised constructions, demanded to know that when the civic and police authorities are aware of all the illegalities, then why they did not initiate corrective action earlier.

Meanwhile, a RTI reply given to Advocate Sameer Shaikh by the Pune police, has revealed that there are only 23 authorised pubs/discotheques in the city and the vast majority of the other bars/pubs/discos are operated illegally. Now the police have begun a review of all such unauthorised establishments.

Amid the crackdown, an industry body, the United Hospitality Association of Pune, has urged the government to initiate a streamlined licensing system for all the 3,300 licenced bars, permit rooms, hotels, restaurants, family eateries, fine-dining outlets, pubs, lounges, etc to ensure that these do not get the ‘illegal’ tag.

The UHA vice-president Ajinkya Shinde told mediapersons that a proper single-window licensing procedure will help all the establishments comply with the laws, generate substantial revenues for the government and also boost the city’s booming hospitality sector.

The crackdown against illegal bars/pubs started days after the May 19 Porsche car hit-and-run accident and was taken up with renewed vigour after a rave party was exposed in the L3 bar on June 23.