Bar plan in residential area near Manipal kicks up a storm

UDUPI: About 200 residents living in 65 houses at LaxmindraNagara near Manipal are up in arms against the move of a restaurant owner to set up a bar in the residential area. The residents fear that the serene atmosphere in their neighborhood will fall prey to the antics of those who frequent the bar.
The residents have formed 'Laxmindra Nagara Nagarika Samithi' and under its banner have opposed the move of the Udupi City Municipal Council (CMC) which gave its no-objection certificate (NOC) to open a bar about eight months ago.
KR Kamath, president of the samiti, told STOI that the local people opposed a bar coming up in their area when the bar owner applied for a NOC with the then CMC commissioner Gokuldas Nayak.
Notwithstanding opposition from the residents, the bar owner however could get NOC from the CMC. The residents wrote to the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission (KSHRC) complaining that waste water from the restaurant was unscientifically discharged and parking rules were violated. They alleged that the parking place of vehicles for customers was not demarcated. Also the residents are suffering from sound pollution.
The KSHRC, in return, sent a letter to the Udupi CMC urging action and subsequently the NOC was withdrawn. However, a conditional NOC was given to the restaurant owners to open a bar recently by the Udupi CMC, he said. The excise department has not yet given licence to open a bar in the area, but the restaurant owners are going ahead with their plans.
Another resident Dr Rajgopal Shenoy, who is a professor and head of department of surgery, KMC Hospital, Manipal, who is a resident of Laxmindra Nagar, said the residents have been opposing the bar coming up since three years. ''It is predominantly a residential area and the bar will only spoil the good atmosphere in the area,'' he said.
George Pinto, the deputy commissioner, the department of excise, Udupi, said the process of approving bar licence is in preliminary stage and bar owners have claimed that the bar will operate in a commercial complex. The department will act as per law, he said, clarifying that the licence has not yet been given to run a bar in the area.
Udupi CMC commissioner K Srikanth Rao said that he would carry out a spot inspection on Monday and a decision will be taken as per the provisions under law.