Ten days after excise official warned them of stringent action if found allowing the use of drugs inside their premises. Alongside putting up ‘Say No To Drugs’ boards at their entrances, many have added extra layers of checks at the entry point. Some have even hired more bouncers to keep a closer watch on patrons.
“We, for one, are no longer allowing guests to carry open cigarette packets inside as it is easy to slip drugs into them,” said Anil Kumar Karnati, one of the founders of Broadway in Jubilee Hills, Here, security men at the gate have now started scanning Aadhaar cards too, to stop those below 21 years from entering the premises.
In their recent meeting with pub and club owners, excise officials had stressed the need to curb underage drinking, among other things.
Adding to the no-loose-cigarette rule, another popular joint, Fat Pigeon, has brought on board a lady bouncer to check the bags/purses of women, walking in to drink and dine. “We never used to do this earlier,” said Ketan Agarwal, co-founder of the property. “But now we have realized that this can be a way of carrying drugs and alcohol into the premises. We have also started filtering the crowd more strictly and are encouraging reservations over walk-ins, especially over the weekends.”
While live shows and music are still on at many of these watering holes, the decibel levels now are much lower. “We are trying to ensure that the sound does not travel outside the premises,” said Ayush Agarwal, co-founder of Air Live, adding that staff at his night club are also conducting random checks to weed out unscrupulous individuals.
Chef Shankar Krishnamurthy, official spokesperson and chapter head of National Restaurant Association of India (Hyderabad), said: “Through these various measures, we intend to make our stand against the use of drugs very clear. We want to stress that none of us encourage such activity and are willing to support the government in every way possible to tackle the problem of drugs in the city.”
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