Bars start shutting down after poll panel liquor ban

Kolkata: Following the EC prohibition on the sale of liquor for nine and a half days in Bengal during the election, a sizeable number of bars-cum-restaurants in Sector V, New Town and some parts of south Kolkata have decided to down their shutters on the commission-imposed dry days.

The most affected area is Sector V, where 20 such establishments have shut for the time being to cut down on losses, followed by New Town. The number of such bars-cum-restaurants in south Kolkata is four-five. With hardly any customers, some establishments have started closing down by early evening.





The secretary of Hotel and Restaurant Association of Eastern India (HRAEI), Pranav Singh, pointed out that outlets that were more dependent on liquor sales were closing early in the evening. "In some restaurants on Park Street, such as Peter Cat, Mocambo, Bar-B-Q and Kwality, food sales are also pretty high. A drop in footfall at such restaurants has relatively been less," he added.

Malay Dutta, a partner of Opium Bar & Restaurant, one of the leading establishments in Sector V, pointed out that on Monday and Tuesday, business was merely 5% of their normal day sales. "It is difficult to sustain with this kind of business. We will shut shop by 7 pm. A lot of bars in the area have been shut since Tuesday," he added.

The manager of Barcode in Sector V, Pranab Mukherjee, said when they received a call from the excise department to keep the bar shut on April 20, he decided to close down for the time being. "We had bought raw materials on April 20 that will go to waste. Our outlet will open again on April 24. I have never experienced such a situation in the past 33 years," he added.

Monesh Deb, operation manager of Bistro Y, a resto-pub in Sector V, pointed out that most similar establishments in Sector V depended on liquor. "We have closed our outlet for the time being. As people have a lot of options of street food in Sector V, they hardly ever visit places like ours for lunch. Most come for a drink, along with food. So if drink is not served, why would anyone come?" said Deb, adding 40 litres of their draught beer would be wasted.

Sohon Saha, owner of The Spirits, a resto-bar in Sector V, said they were getting hardly any business. "Being a lounge bar, over 80% of our business is drink-related. We will make losses even on Friday, as we may not be allowed to stay open till our usual time of 2 am." Ranojay Pramanik, owner of Booze in New Town, has also kept his resto-bar shut on "dry days" amid a drop in business.
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