Only Normal Dance Bars Should Operate
By: Dolphy Mendonsa
First of all, hats off to Mr R.R.Patil (Home Minister & Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra –India) for trying to curb squandering of ill-gotten money. This is because due to the bar owners well connected network, they were over-confident that no one can close the bars; this has sent a message that anything is possible if some honest person wants to do so.
The problem is that many of these Bar Owners had become so greedy that they were willing to go to any lengths to make money and with more and more money flowing in very soon the traditional concept would have vanished and we would have been portrayed as the sex capital of India on the lines of Thailand, etc.
But at the same time, Mr. R.R Patil should have allowed the normal bars to operate as along with these most of the bars that were adhering to the guidelines were also made to suffer.
I would like to point out certain issues detailed below:
1. Most of the Dance Bars have been turned into Disco Dance Bars whereby the girls sit with the customers and the customers can dance with these girls on the small floor which otherwise in normal Dance Bars, only the Bar girls are allowed to Dance. It also serves as a pick-up joint where you have to pay a token amount at the counter to take the girl out.
2. With the onslaught of these bars, the amount of bribes in all sectors has increased. Earlier some minor works were being done without any bribe but now for the same minor work bribes are being charged and the bribes now has risen considerably to fund their nights out of the local authorities.
3. The others who don’t have the means of taking bribes do all sorts of cheating, robbery, extortion and in some case even Murder. This is particularly so in farming districts where these youths have no regular work and to fund their habits resort to these methods.
4. Why don’t their respective states open up these dance bars and employ these people. Why doesn’t Delhi have these Dance Bars and why Mumbai should be used for all these activities? Why should these people travel all the way to Mumbai to satisfy their lust with their ill-gotten wealth?
5. The strategy of sending undercover reporters to these joints is useless because these girls are very clever and will surely not show their real face by accepting your advances; they are now very alert and will be suspicious of even their usual customers.
Solutions:
1. Only normal Dance Bars whereby the girls dance on the stage should be allowed and these so called Disco Dance Bars should be banned.
2. Extend all these timings to 5.00 a.m to avoid bribing of police. This is because anyways most of these bars stay open till early hours of morning by bribing the police.
3. Identify all the bars having links with the Police and close them permanently and punish the officials guilty of the same, President of Bar Owners Association Manjeet Singh has given a list of them, please act on it.
4. Impose a monthly tax on all the Bar girls operating in the bars, this can be done by issuing photo ID whereby they can be issued a certain Income Tax No. to keep tabs on them.
Please have this message conveyed to our Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister R.R.Patil and I pray that some of these suggestions can be implemented and not punish those who are not involved in illegal activities
Mr. Dolphy Mendonsa is a Freelance writer with thoughts for improving the life of the people by observing discipline laid down by nature and the Law of the land.