Swoops over, Navalkar wants permit raj

This, in effect, means that not only college students, who are regulars at discos and pubs, but also adults without valid liquor permits can now say goodbye to all that fun.

Pub owners say Navalkar’s orders, if carried out, will not only rob the city of its night life but also create myriad problems for their business. “How can I stop a college student from drinking liquor if he or she is above the age of 18? And if Ikeep insisting that people show me their permits first, who will come to my place?” asks a harried pub-owner.

The youth react differently. While some say they frequent the discos for good, clean fun, others criticise, what they call, the double-standards of the Sena-BJP Government. “It is alright for the Sena to welcome Michael Jackson. But it is cultural invasion if we go to a disco and have fun. Who are these politicians to decide what we should do to have fun? Let our parents tell us what to do,” says a group outside a popular discotheque.

But Navalkar clearly has other ideas. Insisting he would leave no stone unturned to ward off this “cultural aggression”, Navalkar says there was enough reason behind his directive to the District Collector to cancel licences of all bars, pubs, discotheques and pool tables where college-going students were found drinking liquor till late in the night.

“The business of pubs and bars was at an all-time high, especially after the HSC examinations,” he claims.“In Pune, this drinking habit is spreading like never before among the youth. It is as if a cultural aggression is on, taking over the city youth.”

However, the minister admits that such crackdowns can hardly stop the youth from drinking liquor. “But we still want to dissuade them from taking to liquor,” he says. “We as the government will ask the pub and bar owners to identify youth consuming liquor and take action against them.”

The minister also believes liquor consumption is higher among students who come from places other than Pune. “The money which they receive from their parents is being spent for the wrong purpose. Visits to pubs cost a significant sum. The middle-class youth, therefore, resort to unlawful activity. I have received serious reports from the city police commissioner about youth taking to unlawful activity,” he claims.