Police give Mangaloreans only 30 minutes to welcome New Year

Police give Mangaloreans only 30 minutes to welcome New Year

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Dec 31, 2011 : The police department will give the people of Mangalore just 30 minutes after midnight to welcome the New Year.

Mangalore Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh said that all establishments that host New Year parties must pull down their shutters by 12:30 a.m. The police will also stay alert to check drunken driving on the occasion. Since the department has no alcometers, any driver suspected of being drunk will be hauled in for a medical examination, he added.

The police commissioner also said that security will be beefed up at New Year party venues and that the KSRP force will be deployed in the city’s major hotspots.

Revelers can also expect the excise department to crack down heavily on bars and restaurants that remain open past midnight. According to Hoovappa Gowda, the excise deputy commissioner, all bars and restaurants holding a CL-7 license can sell liquor only till midnight, and if they want to continue serving liquor after 12:00 midnight, they are required to get an Occasional License (OL), which costs Rs. 11,500. Even then, they can serve liquor only till 1:00 a.m.

The bars and restaurants in the city, however, are reluctant to get an OL. According to a hotel manager, serving guests past midnight is tough and usually hotels stop the music half an hour before midnight, urging guests to have their dinner.