HYDERABAD: Starting Friday, you won’t have to haggle with the barkeeper for one last drink after midnight. For, authorities have decided to allow liquor sales till 1 am on all weekend nights. These new business hours are applicable only on Friday and Saturday nights. Till now, bars were allowed to operate 10 am to midnight.
Principal secretary of Revenue (Excise-II), Somesh Kumar, gave permission for bars located in GHMC and five kilometers periphery of the corporation to serve liquor for one extra hour on Fridays and Saturdays. Officials said that Hyderabad being a global city, office goers work till late in the night and there were requests to let the bars be open till late in the night as the establishments shut down their shop by the time employees wrap their work.
The decision comes after the Hotels and Restaurants Association submitted representation to extend the business hours. The representation was given in February this year. Are there any chances of extending the same to weekdays too? Officials said there is no such plan now. However, the rule is unlikely to impact the operating time of liquor shops as they have not been mentioned in the notification released on Thursday.