No pub to remain open after midnight in Gurgaon

by Haryananewswire

CHANDIGARH, July 16 

 No pub or bar will remain open after midnight and CCTV cameras will be installed in them in Gurgaon. All pubs, bars and lounge   will be thoroughly checked by a team of officers of district administration and police   to ensure that neither hookah nor liquor is being made available to the youth. The team  would send its report to the Police Commissioner, Mr Alok Mittal and Deputy Commissioner,Gurgaon Mr Shekhar Vidyarthi  for  further action at their end.

          These decisions were taken in a meeting held under the chairmanship of Police Commissioner Alok Mittal in Gurgaon today. The meeting was attended by Deputy Commissioner Shekhar Vidyarthi, Joint Commissioner of Police Maheshwar Dayal, Sub Divisional Magistrate, Gurgaon North Dr. Satender Duhan, District Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Excise  Mr Anil Kadian, Civil Surgeon Dr B.K.Rajaura, Senior Drug Controller Lalit Goyal, District Drug Controller Mrs Pooja Chaudhary and ACP DLF Mr Bhupender Singh.

          It was decided in the meeting that CCTV cameras be installed at all the pubs and bars so that it can be ascertained that they were not selling liquor to youth under 25 years of age. Section 29 of Punjab Excise Act 1914 prohibits sale of liquor to persons under the age of 25 years and Section 62 of the Act provides penal provisions for violation.

         In addition, all the pubs and liquor vends would be required to display a warning that ‘here liquor is not sold to youth under 25 years of age’ as it was done in case of sale of tobacco products. Apart from the team, senior officers of police and administration would also conduct surprise checks in pubs and bars. It was also decided that the Deputy Commissioner, who is also the District Magistrate, will issue orders under Section 144 of Cr PC 1973 for installation of CCTV cameras in pubs to ensure  that  liquor was not served to the youth under 25 years of age and   the pubs were not kept open after midnight. After issuing of such orders by the District Magistrate  , the violators can be booked under Section 188 of IPC besides imposing of fines and penalty. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 Cr PC banning running of hookah bars in district Gurgaon are already in force.  

          It was decided in the meeting that the activities of pubs and bars would be monitored regularly by the senior officers of police and district administration. The inspection team has been directed to   conduct  checking of pubs and bars regularly and present its report to the Deputy Commissioner and Police Commissioner every month. The food court or restaurant owners will also have to give an undertaking to the Designate Officer-cum-Civil Surgeon that hookah will not be served to the youth in their premises at the time of taking license. Civil Surgeon is Designate Officer under Food and  Drug Administration for issuing licenses to food courts and restaurants. The Senior Drug Controller was also asked to share the findings of inspections with the Commissioner of Police and Deputy Commissioner so that appropriate action can be taken against the violators.

It was also decided to recommend cancellation of license of the pub where liquor was being served to students recently. Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner (Excise) Anil Kadian was asked to recommend cancellation of license to the Excise and Taxation Commissioner Anil Malik, with whom the district authorities will also take up the matter.