Drunken brawls and road rage: Why Delhi can't afford to party all night like Mumbai

After the Mumbai police allowed city’s pubs, night clubs and restrobars to operate round-the-clock, the long standing demand for extending the operating hours of watering holes in the national capital has got a boost. In Mumbai, bars and restaurants used to shut down by 12.30-1.30 am. Four-five stars hotels were allowed to operate for two hours more. In Delhi, the discotheques, pubs, bars and restaurants stop playing music and serving liquor by 12.30 am and are completely shut down by 1 am, depending on location. [caption id=“attachment_2105451” align=“alignleft” width=“380” class=" “]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] All top officials of the Delhi Police have been tasked by Commissioner BS Bassi to personally ensure that the deadline is enforced. The SHO ensures that the shutters of all such establishments are down at the stipulated time in his area. He then informs the deputy commissioner of police (DCP) concerned about the timely closure who, in turn, informs joint commissioner of police (JCP) and the communication also reaches the special commissioner and the commissioner. They have been asked to issue challans if any such establishment flouted the norms. The directive came in the wake of “rising incidents of drunken brawls, at pubs, bars, night clubs and restaurants, crime against women and road rage”. According to Delhi Police, outlets in the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) area are allowed to remain open till 1 am while the others have to down shutters by 12.30 pm. The police say the restrictions help maintain law and order in the city. They have been directed to pay special attention to New Delhi and South Delhi districts because majority of pubs, clubs and bars are located in the two areas. “Incidents of crime against women, drunken driving and brawls won’t stop and there will be a spurt in such crimes if clubs, bars, restraints and pubs are allowed to operate 24 hours. Many of these establishment indulge in illegal activities like flesh trade, serving liquor to those below 25 years, etc,” Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Deepak Mishra told Firstpost, adding that “shutting the clubs down by 1 am helps the police in ensuring women’s safety and maintaining law and order”. He also said they fear a rise in pub brawls and drunken driving if premises are open all night. But Delhiites say early shut down does not in any way directly address the problem of random acts of violence and crime against women by anti-social elements. “We cannot let our society as a whole be defined by a tiny minority of our worst behaved. We have a right to our freedom, we expect government to predicate our laws not on the worst actions of a miniscule minority, but on the best that we as a society can be and are,” 32-year-old event manager Ashutosh Sharma, who also runs an online campaign - Save Delhi’s Nightlife, told Firstpost. Adding that an active nightlife is crucial to being considered a modern urban space and letting bars and restaurants remain open 24X7 is a step in that direction, he alleged that the administration is curbing their right to enjoy at night. “The early shut down of nightclubs, bars and other such establishments is against our freedom. We have lost our right to enjoy a late night out,” he added. Sharma said bartenders, DJs, club managers, restaurants owners, night life photographers, graphic designers and even taxi drivers are losing out due to the deadline. “Nightlife is connected to the day economy, so the recessed night economy is impacting the day economy, with people losing work and jobs,” he added. Shyam Singh, who runs Escorts Security that provides bouncers to numerous nightclubs in National Capital Region (NCR), said, “Early deadline won’t stop brawls and crime against women. Any fight that has to happen will happen at 11.30 pm also. Therefore, closing down a place early to prevent pub brawls and crime against women make no sense.” To check brawls, he advocated the increased deployment of bouncers not only within the premises but also in their vicinity. “If there are more bouncers and better street lighting around an outlet or in the market where it is situated as well as parking lots, it will help a great deal,” he said. Aarti Rastogi, marketing manager at Turquoise Cottage, a popular pub in south Delhi, corroborated his views. “While beefing up security will certainly help, the city’s men folk need to change their mentality as well,” she said. Ashna Malik, who works with an advertising company, said, “I along with my friends went to a five-star club, where the police suddenly barged into the premises and asked everyone to leave right away. A policewoman shoved some of my friends outside the venue. They asked us why we were lying there like homeless people. Will the city become safer if they give a tough time to troublemakers out on the streets than cracking down on us?” Her allegation was backed by Ridesh Shah, general manager of Third Eye. “It happens almost every day. Five-six men in uniform get in and ask guests to vacate the place immediately. At times, they harass and force them out. This happens despite having a licence that allows us to serve liquor round-the-clock,” he said. The main reason given for not extending the deadline is safety. But almost everyone, to whom Firstpost spoke to, was ready to go extra miles for the safety of women. Harsh Singh, general manager of Talab Cafe & Bar, said, “We are ready to make arrangements at our end; we will make sure women reach home safely. We will keep the pubs safe and that is on us. But the cops need to make the roads safe.” “We take proper care of the safety of ladies. If the extended time is approved, we will arrange cabs for them at our own expenses,” he said. Despite having 85000 strong workforces, almost double of Mumbai Police, Delhi Police finds it difficult to maintain law and order and ensure women safety at late hours, rued many youngsters.