The Mumbai police have issued show cause notices to at least 75 bars and permit rooms with women employees asking them why their licences should not be cancelled.
A report prepared by the police says they are functioning beyond the stipluated time
MUMBAI: The Mumbai police have issued show cause notices to at least 75 bars and permit rooms with women employees asking them why their licences should not be cancelled for functioning beyond the stipulated time. Police said that there were around 4,500 bars in the city.
The Bombay High Court had ruled that women could be employed in bars only till 9.30pm. According to the police, the notices were issued based on the report submitted by the local police to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Head Quarters - Licencing).
DCP (HQ-Licensing Branch) Vijaysingh Jadhav said, “We found that the bars repeatedly violated rules and often indulged in illegal activities like flesh trade.”
The police also scrutinised the history of the bars and the number of times they have been pulled up for violating rules. “We have given the bar owners a fair chance by giving them 30 days to respond to the notice. If they feel victimised they can approach the appellate authority or the High Court,” Jadhav said.
If the licence of these bars are cancelled, the bar girls and waitresses would be the worst-hit. “In February, we approached the principal secretariat (labour department) demanding for reconsideration of the time exemption for the 285 bar girls/ waitresses working in Mumbai,” said Varsha Kale, president of Bhartiya Bar Girls Association.
Unlike bar girls, who are a part of orchestras and find work as singers; waitresses will be left in a lurch. “The work hours for women must be the same for men,” said Kale. She added that the bar girls were at the receiving end of the constant moral policing drives conducted by the police.
“These bars have past cases of violating norms when we conducted surprise raids,” said deputy commissioner of police KMM Prasanna (Zone X).
Sixteen bars and permit rooms in the western suburbs including Andheri, MIDC and Sakinaka were slapped with the notice.
narayan@dnaindia.net
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