Bar owners now act against drunk driving
Soon you could be greeted in bars with messages that advice you to not drink and drive. The reopening of liquor serving establishments after a 5-month long closure seems to have drilled some sense in the minds of owners who have now rolled up their sleeves to launch awareness measures in order to curb the practice of drunk driving.
Apart from launching outdoor campaigns, hoteliers have decided to print slogans on menu cards and bills and are also fixing stickers to spread awareness about the perils of people driving in an inebriated state.
“As restaurant owners, we are in the business to serve alcohol. But at the same time we are a part of the society and have a social responsibility and when things are reinforced at the bar, it makes a difference,” said hotelier Santosh Puthran.
Some hotel owners are in talks with autorickshaw and taxi unions to ensure that they deploy their vehicles near their hotels to ferry drunk patrons back home.
“Licenses of 88 permit rooms, 7 wine shops, 18 beer shops and 4 country liquor selling outlets have been renewed in the twin-city, thus generating a revenue of around Rs. 4.5 crores.” said an excise officer.
With this order, 117 liquor establishments in Mira-Bhayandar which stopped serving liquor since 1, April re-opened on Wednesday.
The order came after a clarification from the Apex Court which stated that the ban on liquor served within 500 metres of state and national highways does not apply within city limits. There are a total of 220 liquor serving establishments in the city.