The district administration has asked the owners of bars and restaurants situated along the Hebbal Ring Road and also within the Hebbal Industrial Area to close down their units immediately. The administration has also warned them saying that it would soon launch a drive to evict them if they do not do so.
H. Ramakrishne Gowda, Joint Director, District Industries Centre, told The Hindu on Tuesday, that Additional Chief Secretary Rathna Prabha, along with a team of officials from various departments, had visited the Hebbal Industrial Area and surrounding places a few days ago. Ms. Prabha was surprised to see scores of bars and restaurants functioning here. She is reported to have instructed the officials of various departments, including the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB), to get the bar and restaurants vacated.
Mr. Gowda said that the land here was acquired to promote industrial activities and plots in the industrial area were allotted to entrepreneurs to carryout industrial activities. “The acquired land should not be used for any other purpose other than the industrial activities,” he said, adding that running bar and restaurants on an industrial area was illegal. A team of officials had visited most of the establishments a few days ago and found that they were running without proper permission.
Sources in the Excise Department said that KIADB must be hand in glove with the owners. Meanwhile, owners of a few bars and restaurants had submitted applications to the Excise Department and KIADB to permit them to start a microbrewery in the area.
