SC liquor ban to hurt bars and pubs on Bengaluru’s M G Road

Koshy’s, the iconic restaurant in the central business district of Bengaluru might pull down its shutters after July 1, if the Supreme Court’s ban on liquor sales along national highways becomes effective.

P O Mathew, a third generation entrepreneur running the 72-year-old family business, says the ban on the sale of liquor in areas surrounding Bengaluru’s most iconic street — MG Road, is possibly the last straw in pushing the business towards closure.

The fate of Koshy’s, which is one of the city’s most famous hangouts, now hinges on the state government’s ability to woo the Centre to denotify M G Road and its surrounding Brigade Road, Ulsoor Road and J C Road as national highways.

Nearly a 100 establishments, including five star properties of Oberoi and Taj Vivanta, will see business affected around M G Road alone.

“We are keeping our fingers crossed in the hope that we can continue for some more time. This is my bread and butter. We are the third generation running it, so imagine how others must be feeling when I say I just want to shut down and run away,” said Mathew.

Apart from affecting the hundreds of businesses in Central Bengaluru, the Supreme Court ban could hurt the city’s perception as a business friendly destination and mar tourism. Further, the three excise ranges of Ashok Nagar, Ulsoor and Sampangiramnagar that are affected by the ban, contribute 11 per cent of the state excise department’s collections.

As traffic density increased on M G Road, authorities stopped plying of heavy vehicles, yet till the 1990’s heavy trucks would ply on the far edge of M G Road that connects Old Madras Road. As businesses increased concentration in the central business district, the authorities built roads that circumvent the city, but did not change the highway classification of these roads on paper.

Karnataka’s Excise Commissioner Manjunath Naik admits several establishments similar to Koshy’s have begun to relocate to other parts of the city. “There will be an impact. How much will be the impact is too early to quantify,” says Naik, whose office has issued notices to pubs and bars that are on “highways” in Bengaluru’s city centre.

While Karnataka had written to the Centre in 2015 requesting denotification of the said roads, however, the state did not follow it up. Even after the Supreme Court delivered its judgement in December 2016, the state did not write to the Centre until earlier this month to take up the issue of denotification.

Analysts say that Bengaluru’s pub culture and its outlets in and around M G Road has been an attraction for businesses and tourists alike. The move could be disastrous for the tech hub at a time when the city is faced with infrastructure challenges.

“When the government is talking about investment coming in, these are the things that they should looked into a lot more carefully. Just because the government gives someone some sops in taxes, that doesn’t mean everyone is going to come here,” said Ashish Kothare, member of the managing committee at the National Restaurant Association of India.

“Bengaluru has a black spot against its transport system and infrastructure. Now, if the entertainment and F&B industry is taking a hit, it’ll create a negative image in the minds of the investors,” he said.