Pune’s hospitality industry protests suspension of licenses after May 19 accident
As many employees of the hospitality industry are now at the risk of becoming jobless, the overall sentiment at the march was that of unfairness on the part of the Pune Excise Department, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pune Police
Following the accident on May 19 in which a speeding Porsche allegedly driven by a 17-year-old boy killed two IT professionals in the city, the Pune Excise Department has sealed 32 liquor-serving establishments in Pune district over a span of five days, significantly altering Pune’s nightlife. However, owners and workers of the hospitality industry in Pune gathered in large numbers at Ram Bahadur Mills on May 24 to lead a silent march as a mark of protest against the ongoing suspension of their licenses at the hands of the excise department.
As many employees of the hospitality industry are now at the risk of becoming jobless, the overall sentiment at the march was that of unfairness on the part of the Pune Excise Department, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pune Police.
The manager of Elrow Club, Kalyaninagar, said, “We have been following the rules set by the government. But the accident has led them to cancel the licenses of all the clubs. We agree that the establishments involved in the accident were at fault and that action should be taken against them but why is the entire industry being made to suffer for it? How will our homes function?”
The manager of Di Mora, another popular club in the city, said, “We suffered during the pandemic also and now we are suffering after the accident as well because of the actions of other individuals.”
A lot of people employed in these establishments as disc jockeys, bartenders and bouncers depend on the nightlife in the city for their livelihood. According to the protesters, if more and more clubs, bars, and pubs continue to be sealed, it will leave nearly 60,000 people employed within the hospitality industry jobless.
Abhinav Girdhar aka DJ Faith, a popular artist among Pune’s clubs, said, “Why are we at fault? If these establishments are shut down, who will support their families, who will pay their bills? Instead, give us proper guidelines to ensure that this does not happen again. Let these establishments run.”
Meanwhile, police officials put an end to the silent march undertaken by the protesters as the latter had not taken necessary permissions for it. The police also said that legal action will be taken against the organisers of the protest for not following the rules and regulations around public protests..