Illegal dance bars continue to flourish in Nagpur despite police crackdown

Advertisement

File Pic

Nagpur: Irrespective of police crackdown, illegal orchestra bars, infamously called dance bars, continue to flourish in the Second Capital City of Nagpur.

A reply to the poser under Right to Information (RTI) has revealed that at least 12 bars are operating orchestras without permission. Licences of these bars have not been renewed by Police Department but still the shady business is going on. This illegal act is also denting coffers of cash-starved Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC).

Notably, the civic body receives Rs 50,000 per month from each orchestra bar towards licence charges. But since the licences of these orchestra bars have not been renewed, the NMC is being deprived of much needed Rs 6 lakh per month.

The RTI reply further said that licences of these 12 dance bars lapsed 2-3 years back. Police had not renewed the licences of the dance bars but still many of these jaunts continue to run the dubious business.

According to the RTI information, licence renewal time limit of Needos Bar and Restaurant, run by Rajiv Jaiswal, was till 2016. Similarly, Babjotsingh Khanduja’s Hotel Executive Club (India) Pvt Ltd was till 2015, Neeraj Gupta-run Hotel Madira Bhavan’s was till 2015, Dilbagsingh Gurdipsingh Sokhi’s Hotel Sarja Bar and Restaurant was 2015, time limit of Hotel Skylark of Mohabbatsingh Kapoorsingh Tuli was till 2015, Sutinderpalsingh Gurcharansingh Arora’s bar was till 2015, licence renewal time limit of Hotel Ace Digistronic Pvt Ltd of Baldeo Mohan Hirani was till 2016, Ramlu Kondya Sultan’s Hotel Green Bar and Restaurant was till 2015, Avinash Bhosale’s Hotel Lee Meredien was 2016, Bestek Hospitalities Pvt Ltd’s Radisson Blu was till 2015 and licence renewal time limit of Welcome Bar and Restaurant run by Mohit Premchand Gupta was till 2017.

But even after lapse of licences of these dance bars, the orchestras and vulgar acts continue to attract elite clients.

It is pertinent to recall that police had launched a major crackdown on illegal dance bars across the city. The bar owners and managers were running illegal dance bars ‘in the guise of orchestra bars’, whose licences lapsed. As per Maharashtra Prohibition of Obscene Dance in Hotels, Restaurants and Bar Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women (working therein) Act, 2016, ‘dance’ is not allowed in orchestra bars.