Bhubaneswar: Owners of dance bars on Saturday urged the Odisha government to reconsider its move to impose a total ban on these bars in the state.
The appeal by the Bar and Restaurant Association of Odisha was made a day after Excise Minister Pritivhraj Harichandan on Friday announced that there will be a total ban on dance bars and all such bars will be shut in the state.
Addressing a press meet in Bhubaneswar, functionaries of the association said that the state government must reconsider the move taking into consideration the question of livelihood of thousands of people on dance bars.
Stating that there are a total of 17 dance bars in Bhubaneswar, association secretary Satya Mohanty said around 500 people are engaged in each bar.
Association president Siba Prasad Mohanty said that dance bars do not engage only girls as there are other workers also including those in kitchen, on the floor, and musicians.
Claiming that the government has not understood the issue properly, the bar owners said that they are complying with the prescribed terms and conditions. If the government shuts dance bars, it will be a blow to their livelihood as they have also invested a huge amount of money for the business.
In 2019, many dance bars in Bhubaneswar were closed and the owners had moved the High Court. The High Court set aside the decision of complete closure of bars and recommended certain conditions on the opening of the dance bars, they said.
Seeking the intervention of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi for reconsideration of the move, the bar owners said they will also meet the CM and explain their stand. They said they will also meet the Excise Minister to discuss the issue.
The bar owners further said that there is no law currently that bans dance bars and employment of female workers in the bar for entertainment. The Odisha Excise Policy 2017 clearly allows dance bars with some conditions. After that it was never amended and it is for the authorities to ensure that the bars operate as per the laid down conditions.
As per official sources, Odisha Excise Rules, 2017 provided that women, not below 21 years may be engaged in musical programme or dance programme or orchestra in the liquor shops licensed to sale foreign liquor or IMFL for consumption on the premises under the jurisdiction of Police Commissionrate Cuttack, Bhubaneswar with prior written permission of the Commissioner.
The Commissioner shall impose following conditions before granting such permission:
(a) the premises shall be fixed with closed Circuit Television (CCTV) Cameras at appropriate places with appropriate mechanism to ensure that the said facilities cannot be tampered with and such recorded evidence can be verified by the Police and Excise Officials, from time to time, and the associated Hard Disc memory in such CCTV must have the capacity to store data for a minimum period of three months;
(b) the licensee shall make an application along with the proof of identity of women, whom they seek to engage in the musical or dance programme or Orchestra, containing the names and details of the performers and such proof of identity must be Voter ID or Adhaar Card as well as latest attested photographs;
(c) the performers should neither wear clothes exposing the body nor should they wear provocative clothes;
(d) the performance stage should be bounded with a railing of 3 feet height adjacent to the dance stage with minimum five feet distance between the railing and the seats for customers;
(e) a register shall be maintained at the premises by the licensee to keep entries of names and address of women performing in the musical or dance programme or orchestra every day;
(f) it shall be the responsibility of the licensee to gather and verify the information regarding name, address, photograph and citizenship of the performers before applying for such permission;
(g) the area of dance floor shall be minimum 10 ft x 12 ft i.e., 120sq ft (One hundred and twenty sq.ft ) and the area to be provided for such dancer should be minimum of 15 sq ft so that more than 8 dancers cannot dance simultaneously on the stage having an area of 120 sq ft ( One hundred and twenty sq. ft);
(h) if the dancers are to be awarded, there should be a ban on going near them or showering money on them ;
(i) if any money or awarded is intended to be given, the same can only be collected in the name of Manager of the dancer concerned or to be handed to the manager;
(j) the licensee shall display the license prominently on the walls of the Place;
(k) subject to the provisions of the prohibition of Smoking in public places rules, no person shall smoke and no licensee or his nominated manager or managers shall permit smoking in the establishment;
(l) separate hygienic and adequate toilet and locker facilities shall be provided for women so engaged;
(m) the applicant/ licensee shall be holding the certificate regarding fire safety from the competent authority.
(n) the establishment shall issue a photo ID card to each woman so engaged which shall be carried by that employee at all times during the period of duty.
(o) adequate private security measures must be taken by the licensee to prevent sexual or other harassment in any form of any woman engaged in his “ON” shop.
(p) the licensee must ensure the safety of women engaged in his “ON” shop by providing free and suitable travel arrangements to her place of residence.
(6) No licensee for the wholesale or retail vend of an intoxicant shall employ any person
suffering from any infectious and contagious disease for any purpose in his licensed premises:
