THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: All bars in the state, save the ones in five-star hotels, will be closed down on Thursday night, Excise Minister K Babu said here on Wednesday . All arrangements are in place for shutting down the bars, he said. The liquor policy announced by the government doesn’t have any recommendation regarding the issuing of licence to beer and wine parlours or closing down existing ones, he said. As part of cancelling bar licences, the government had granted a grace period of 15 days to bar owners. The time ends on Thursday night.
On Thursday, the SC will consider the petition submitted by the bar owners against the government action and the verdict will prove crucial. The licences of 712 bars will be cancelled as per the government decision. Of the 712, as many as 418 have been lying closed since April as their licences were not renewed. The licences of two other bars were not renewed owing to various other reasons.