Bars along highways to reopen soon

Tribune News Service   

Chandigarh, August 23

The order of the Supreme Court has paved the way for the reopening of bars  in hotels situated on state and national  highways in the city, which were lying closed  for four months.

With the clarification that the order passed by the court   on December 15, 2016, will not prohibit licensed establishments within the municipal areas, the  reopening of the bars is now  a matter of days.   

Sources said the Administration would now seek a legal  opinion, which was a  formality, and  start  issuing licences to hotels and restaurants  soon.

The court had said, “The order will only  deal with the sale of liquor along and in proximity of highways... which provide connectivity between cities,  towns and villages.  The order does not prohibit licensed establishments within the municipal areas.”

Ankit Gupta, president of the Chandigarh Hospitality Association, said they were grateful to the apex court for issuing a clarification that the liquor ban on highways was not applicable to licensed premises within the municipal limits of a city. The association requested the Administration to restore the status quo of March 31, on payment of the licence fee, for hospitality outlets affected by the ban.

Kirron Kher, Member of Parliament, said the efforts of the Chandigarh Administration had been applauded by the whole country. The Chandigarh Administration’s sincere fight against all odds for a decision from the Supreme Court had paid off. Hotels and restaurants faced a loss of around Rs  70  crore in the past  four  months following the order of the Supreme Court banning the sale of liquor within 500 metres of national and state highways. The order had affected the business of approximately 90 hotels situated on the National Highway-21 and the state highway (Madhya Marg) in the city. A majority of the hotels are situated in Sectors 26, 35 and 43, which fall on the national highway. The  hotels were also forced to lay off approximately 5,000 employees. Gurvinder Juneja, secretary of the Chandigarh Hotel and Restaurant Association, also welcomed the decision.