No restriction on ahatas draws ire of Gurugram pub owners

Pub and bar owners, who pay a hefty sum to get liquor licence, are planning to meet senior excise officials in Panchkula to raise concerns about the operation of ahatas (small drinking place), that have mushroomed across the city.

They alleged that these establishments are operating like full-fledged restaurants without complying with prescribed norms for operating an eatery, which is a setback for legit restaurants.

Ahatas, also known as anumat kaksh, are small eateries allowed outside liquor outlets to stop people from drinking in the open. The aim of an ahata is to prevent drunken behaviour in public. The licence fee for an ahata is a meagre 0.04% of the liquor zone fee of that particular area.

The restaurant association of the city said they will continue to seek a remedy to ahatas, which, restaurant owners alleged, hit their business badly and it also leads to traffic congestion during the peak hours.

They alleged that the ahatas, which dot most upscale commercial and residential areas in Gurugram, are not playing by the rules anymore.

“The problem of open drinking, especially outside liquor vends, has increased across the city. There have been regular reports highlighting rampant drinking in the open, and the ahatas are making a fast buck, but the excise department is still giving them a free hand to operate,” said Baljeet Rathee, director of 7 Degrees brewery.

The pub owners are also demanding that ahatas should be regulated so that such establishments do not compete with them without paying the licence fee.

“They (ahatas) were planned as authorised drinking places, with the overall objective to prevent drinking in public. However, against norms, the ahatas are being run as full-fledged air-conditioned restaurants with entertainment facility. These outlets are not compliant with food safety, fire safety and pollution norms,” Rahul Singh, president of National Restaurant Association of India, said.

Hotel owners said the issue is that none of the ahatas are operated by licence holders (liquor vend owners) and that it is against the norms.

“The licensee is required to have proper structure and furniture to maintain cleanliness and hygienic environment. This means they have to be operated by the licence holders, but issue is that none of these are operated by them. They just give their ahatas to some third party to handle and take revenue share/profit from them,” said Arvind Kumar, general manager of a hotel in Udyog Vihar.