Too many minors in Delhi’s pubs

The more rigid the law, the more number of offenders it seems to spawn. The nation’s capital has the highest legal drinking age of 25, but a recent survey has found that 80% of visitors to the city’s pubs and bars are minors.

Worse still, the survey found that almost 34% of the minors, even below 16 years of age, easily procure liquor from government-owned shops. The excise department does not dispute the findings. It said it is not possible to keep a check on all shops.

“Yes, underage drinking in Delhi is very common and this survey does not indicate something new. It’s been a long-standing problem, but we can’t possibly keep a check on all the government shops,” said a senior excise department official on condition of anonymity.

The survey also found that every year around 2,000 minors are involved in drunken driving cases in Delhi. “Either they are the offenders or the victims,” said Prince Singhal, founder, Campaign Against Drunken Driving (CADD), the NGO that carried out the survey.

The survey found that over 44% of class XII students in Delhi have had a drink in the last 30 days. “I might defer with the figures stated in the survey, but I can’t deny the fact that young people indulge in drinking  in Delhi. Either they do it for fun or due to peer pressure but there is a problem,” said an excise official. The survey also found that 94% of those in the 14-21 years of age consume more than 4-5 drinks at a time.

“We can blame the pub culture in Delhi or the high legal drinking age (25 years) for drawing minors to consume alcohol,” said the excise official.