Dining and boozing till 1am likely for Delhiites

New Delhi: Discotheques at five-star hotels in the city may soon get the permit to remain open till 1am. A committee led by Delhi Chief-Secretary S K Srivastava has recommended easing of restrictions by half-an-hour for discotheques to enable parity in terms of permission for serving food, liquor and playing music. 

The committee will now seek approval from the Lt-Gov Najeeb Jung for the same.

The hotel association had asked the authorities for the permission to open their discotheques till 4am in the morning.

After the December 16, 2012, gang-rape case, Delhi Police resorted to strict monitoring of all night clubs at hotels pushing for early closure and enforcing 12.30am as the time for guests to depart. With police enforcement becoming the norm and a lot of discrepancy in various license timings for food, liquor and music irritating customers and affecting business, a five star hotel association submitted a memorandum to the Delhi chief secretary asking for relaxation in timings. 

There are about 10 major discos in Delhi’s five-star hotels that attract the city’s youth. Committee is now waiting for the L-G’s approval.