Top clubs left high and dry after SC liquor rule

Mumbai: The ban on the sale of liquor within 500 metres of the state and national highways has impacted few premier clubs, the names include MIG Cricket Club and even the Mulund Gymkhana. The clubs have been given notices by the government’s excise department to shut bars. Meanwhile, some 450 establishments within Mumbai have been shut impacting more than 15,000 people and their livelihood, a delegation of hotel owners were spotted in Vidhan Bhawan trying to meet the CM on Wednesday.

While clubs like Acres in Chembur, and NSCI in Worli aren’t impacted, when this newspaper called MIG, it claimed that the bar’s shut after the apex court’s decision of not allowing alcohol being served within 500 metres of highways.

The excise department has been sending out notices to the clubs and other establishments falling within the range of 500 metres of highways. “The bar is shut for now, we have been told that it is because of the Supreme courts decision. There’s no clarity on when it will open,” said a member from MIG club.

Meanwhile, the Hotel Owners Association claims that around 450 establishments are completely shut because of this order. Niranjan Shetty, spokesperson for Mumbai BJP and also a senior committee member of the Hotel Association Ahar, along with several other members went to the meet the chief minister. “We are told that two main clubs are impacted because of this decision, as rest of the clubs are far from highway. The excise department has served notices to everyone. There are some 450 establishments that are completely shut, and more than 15,000 families are impacted because of it, every establishment is suffering a loss of nowhere less than '50,000 per day. This will also cause a major loss to the state government, hence we are asking the CM to intervene,” said Mr Shetty.

Meanwhile, repeated attempts to get details from excise department on the exact number of clubs served notices by the department got us no response.