The entire city was talking about the extended nightlife timings of Bangalore before 3 months. The timings to serve liquor were extended from 11.00 p.m. to 1.00 a.m. on weekends, a definite reason to cheer up and gulp some beer. This was a temporary move by the government for 3 months and it was applicable only on weekends.
The State Government is planning to implement the timings on weekdays as well. This news will undoubtedly lighten up the moods of party animals and the pub owners. Bangaloreans follow the mantra ‘Work hard, party harder.’ The pub owners have already experienced the increasing income level as the sales went high upto 50-100% and hence the extension of timings on weekend is heartily welcomed by them. The only constraint would be the staff members as they have to hire the new staffs or extend the timings for the existing staff or proceed with the shift system. They have hired drivers to drop the drunken customers to their places for the safety of the people. This will prevent the drink and drive cases as well. The regular party goers will no longer have to wait for the weekends to chill out.
The Police department has mixed feelings about this implementation as the work pressure would increase and safety issues will be on rise. The cases of drunken driving have already increased by 40%, giving the police a tough time to manage the city on weekends. The police department has been given 100 new SUVs worth Rs 5 crore for patrolling. The jeep count is 200 approximately which is below the minimum bar when compared to cities like Delhi and Mumbai. The biggest challenge for the police department is the man power. The more the number of police personnel, the better the law and order in the city.
The government has to consider all the pros and cons before taking any action.