Newstrack

Star hotels and restaurants raided in Chennai

Preeti Kannan - Chennai

Even as Tamil Nadu is being hailed 'enchanting', the state's stringent alcohol policy continues to dog hoteliers and dampen their spirits. The most recent one being the raids in several five and four star hotels and restaurants, where the policemen demanded to see their bar licenses, while ensuring that they were serving within the stipulated area.

These checks were triggered off after popular restaurant Mainland China was found serving alcohol, while guests were being billed in the name of Hotel Aruna, situated in the annexe. Legally, standalone restaurants in Tamil Nadu cannot serve liquor in their premises and hotels need a separate license to serve liquor outside their bar premises.

While many restaurants are found to flout rules, hotels allege continuous harassment by the police. Speaking to EH on condition of anonymity, a hotelier lamented that every time there was a change in the government, officials flex their muscles and come knocking on hotels and restaurants' doors in the city. "According to the rules, alcohol can be served only in a bar and that too only to residents of a hotel. The curfew time is also 11 pm when we have to stop serving liquor. The law is archaic and we can be hauled up anytime," he said.

A few hotels have been served show cause notices demanding explanation for the irregularities committed, while Aruna's bar license has been revoked and the hotel has got a stay from the court. The problem brings to light the bigger issue of the liquor policy, where the state prefers to take a conservative stand. Denying any harassment, a senior official told EH, "It is the policy of the government and we are only doing our job. There is no blanket permit. We understand that this is a sensitive issue and is part of tourism. That is why we ensure that we go in civil clothes during these checks, which is an ongoing process.

Another hotelier termed the FL3 Act that governs the sale of liquor in hotels as, ‘vague and ambiguous’. The act does not specify any time limits, but the city police are particular that the bars close down the bar by 11 pm. With international flights coming into the city late at night and tourism growing fast in the state, the government has to liberalise the law and aid tourism, instead of laying down such conservative rules, he opined.