New Year bash: Delhi, Pune not much better

Unlike Mumbai which can party till 5 am, Bangalore can enjoy till only 1 am

New Year bash: Delhi, Pune not much better

Unlike Mumbai which can party till 5 am,u00a0Bangalore can enjoy till only 1 am

Bangaloreu00a0police are again ensuring the city has a dull party on December 31. While Mumbai will party hard till 5 am, the scene in Bangalore will be a real downer with celebrity bartenders serving booze, and belly and salsa dancers doing their sizzling routines only till 1 am.

Bangalore shares its 1 am deadline for serving alcohol with New Delhi, while Pune is slightly better off with a 1.30 am deadline.

Despite a call by pub owners and hoteliers for an extended deadline, the police this year only relented by one hour past midnight, for both music and the serving of food and alcohol.

Most pub and nightclub owners, and hoteliers are unhappy with this.

Leena Singh, a city socialite, said she would to be at a fancy wedding in the city on the New Year's Eve rather then attending a New Year bash. Event organiser Lalit Sanghvi said, "I am off to Dubai for a week and will ring in the New Year at Bukhara, Dubai."

The highlights for Bangaloreans, if they decide to stay in the city to welcome the New Year here?u00a0

Bangaloreans can go the Spanish way with salsa dancers at an 'Ibiza bash' or feast their eyes on belly and fire dancers for Rs 1,499 per couple. Brazilian carnival dancers with a Russian DJ have also been planned.

In Pune
According to Restaurant Owners Association the deadline to play music is only till midnight and all restaurants have to shut by 12.30 am. Imran Sethi, owner, Tertullia Lounge, a bar and restaurant at Koregaon Park, said, "We are trying our best to convince the police and extend the deadline. If they don't we will work with what we have." Added Rachana Punjabi, owner, Casanova, "We don't know what will actually happen, but rules are rules and they have to be followed."

In Delhi
The Delhi police refuses to allow relaxation on deadlines. Music from loudspeakers has to be stopped by 10 pm, while the deadline for serving alcohol is dependent on the bar/club's individual licence granted by the excise department. Said Kashif Farooq, co-owner, Urban Pind, "We cannot extend our operations beyond the 1 am ruling. At least for one day in a year, we should be given the freedom to operate for 24 hours." Added Siddharth Talwar, owner, Cafe Morrison, "We will shut shop at 12.45 am because of the 1 am deadline.

However, we have a provision to extend the deadline till 2 am if we take police permission." Said Kamal Arora, entertainment head, The Sports Bar, "I've got permission to operate till 1 am, but if the crowd wants and if we get permission, we can extend the hours."

Deadline tug-of-war

In 2007, it was proposed that the deadline for restaurants be extended from 11.30 pm to 1.30 am in the interest of the travelling public and tourists.

According to the proposal, the 11.30 pm deadline was described as unreasonable, considering the cosmopolitan character of the metropolitan cities in the country.

The proposed deadline was for three growing cities u2014 Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.

The proposal was accepted for Mumbai, and the deadline extended to 1.30 am.

However, even in Mumbai establishments that could avail of the extended deadline for closing time were not allowed to take in new customers or accept fresh orders after 12.30 am.

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels