BENGALURU: Even as the High Court on Friday asked the state government to submit a status report within four weeks over the permission given to pubs operating in Indiranagar, the civic agency has said it can only check the status of the establishments operating in residential areas. A Division Bench of acting Chief Justice L Narayana Swamy and Justice PS Dinesh Kumar passed the order on a PIL filed by Defence Colony Residents’ Association and 19 others, and issued notices to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB).
BBMP Zonal Joint Commissioner (East) H M Ravindra, however, said it is not possible to shut down pubs in commercial areas. “Residents are asking us to close pubs on 100 Feet Road and 12th Main, which are commercial roads. We cannot shut them down. If they are violating other laws, such as building byelaws, we will look into that. We will give a report to HC,” he told City Express.
BBMP Health Officer Ankugowda Siddapa said, “We have only given licence for pubs to operate in commercial areas and not in residential areas. Once we receive the notice, we will take action accordingly.” Talking to CE on the issue, residents expressed their anger about the BBMP’s response. Sneha Nandihal, a member of I Change Indiranagar, which filed the petition, said, “The 100 Feet Road is classified as mutation corridor and 12th Main is a commercial access road. They are surrounded by houses. Where is the parking place? How are rooftop pubs functioning there? There are no fire safety steps, no microbrewery without a treatment plant,” she complained.
According to Dr Ashok, former Zonal JC (East), BBMP, 40 illegal pubs were shut down four months ago.
The BDA and pollution control board are, however, putting the onus of acting on the errant pubs on the BBMP.
KSPCB Member Secretary Manoj Kumar said they are yet to receive the court notice. “We don’t give any permission to pubs. Only if it is a microbrewery does the board come into picture. However, as per the HC order, we monitor the noise levels and report it to the police and BBMP for further action,” he said.
BDA Commissioner Rakesh Singh also said the responsibility over the contentious pubs lies with BBMP. “We have not received any such notice. Secondly, BDA has no role regarding pubs running in Indiranagar,” he said.
Members of the organisation, I Change Indiranagar, had earlier told the Deputy Commissioner of Police East Zone that people living around 12th Main, 80 Feet Road and 100 Feet Road are especially anguished by the loud music played by the pubs in the area, disrupting their sleep and troubling senior citizens and children.