Liquor ban hits cab business

Mohit Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 21

The Apex court ban on serving of liquor falling in the vicinity of 500 meters from the national and state highways has hit business of cab drivers.

The drivers complain their business has witnessed nearly 40 per cent drop after discotheques, hotels, bars, nightclubs and restaurants falling under the 500-meter radius stopped selling liquor following the Apex court’s order.

The cab drivers gathered near Kiran theatre said during the weekends, they used to get brisk business as tipsy men and women preferred taking cabs to avoid being caught for drunken driving. However, ever since the beginning of April neither these nightclubs have seen visitors nor their cabs have been booked, said the cab drivers.“The Chandigarh Traffic Police put up nakas at various locations to plug drunken driving. So people who used to get drunk preferred taking a cab. However, after the ban, our business has been hit and has gone down,” said Shiv, a cab driver from Kalka.

He said that earlier he used to make over Rs 50,000 a month but now the business and had been hit badly.

Prominent roads of the city, including the Madhya Marg, Dakshin Marg, Himalaya Marg were considered state highways, several eating joints, including pubs and micro-breweries, stopped serving liquor following the SC ban rendering many jobless and disappointing Bacchus lovers.

Sunil, another cab driver, said, “He used to make enough money on weekends. I used to receive cab booking from customers till wee hours. On weekends, I used get as many as 10 orders of dropping customers. Further, the drunk customers used to get generous and offered handsome tips.”

The outlets in Sectors 7, 8, 9, 26, 35, 43 and some parts of the Industrial Area were the worst hit.

The order of the Supreme Court on the liquor ban left hundreds of women and men jobless. The nightclub and bar owners are staring at an uncertain future.

Charanjit Singh said that he was working as a driver for a Mohli resident who is running a cab business.

“I was working in the night shift and used to make decent money by ferrying tipsy customers. But ever since the restaurants have stopped offering liquor following the Supreme Court orders there has been a decline in the number of calls being received during the night,” said Charanjit Singh, who now works during the day.

Drivers witness 40% drop in business

Drivers complain their business has witnessed nearly 40 per cent drop after discotheques, hotels, bars, nightclubs and restaurants falling under the 500-meter radius stopped selling liquor following the apex court’s order. The outlets in Sectors 7, 8, 9, 26, 35, 43 and some parts of the Industrial Area were the worst hit. The nightclub and bar owners  have an uncertain future.