Not fair, say pub-owners

Updated on: 21 May,2009 08:32 AM IST |
Lavanya Srinivasan |

Extending the 11-pm deadline by an hour hasn't gone down too well with pub and bar owners. They plan to take their grouse to the home minister

Extending the 11-pm deadline by an hour hasn't gone down too well with pub and bar owners. They plan to take their grouse to the home minister

The move to extend Bangalore's "draconian and archaic" deadline by an hour has restaurateurs rejoicing while pub-owners are fuming at being left out.

"Finally, our prayers have been answered," says Razzaq C Y, general manager of Hotel Paramount, while Junaizu00a0 of Hotel Empire feels it will be good for business in the long run.

But pub-owners are seething.

"This is totally unfair," says Sonam Lamba, who owns Kosmo. "What about the five star hotels around Bangalore which serve liquor? They get to keep it open till midnight and not us? We will also approach the home minister," she said.

She thinks pub-owners will soon shut shop and move to other businesses. "The ban on smoking and dancing, hike in excise fee, curfew on late-night partying and now recession have all affected business," she added.

'We did it'
The move to get the deadline extended was initiated by KFCC.
"We had sent a plea to extend the timings because if, after the night show, people wanted to go and eat somewhere, all the eateries would be closed," said Jayamala, president of theu00a0 Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce.