As a rite of initiation among the urban elite in the city, a visit to a pub or a taste of beer becomes the first present to a college kid, who has turned 18.
The common notion remains that the legal drinking age in the State – unlike its neighbours – is 18; and this is seen in the swarms of college students filling up local bars and pubs in the Central Business District area.
Even Wikipedia shows the State’s drinking age as 18, and this confusion is repeated in numerous online forums where college students are asking which pub or bar would suit their needs for an 18th birthday celebration.
“There is a lot of confusion in the drinking age in the State. The amendment has been reflected in the (Karnataka Excise Department 1967) rules, but it is not there in the Act. We have identified the lacunae, and will move a proposal to amend the Act,” said Excise Commissioner S.R. Umashankar.
The proposal, in the conceptual stage, will take a long time to traverse the bureaucratic maze of legal experts and the legislature. The department is also following up a Central government proposal to introduce a uniform policy for legal drinking age in the country.
Though seeing those below the age of 21 or even 18 in pubs is not uncommon, the Excise Department has not netted even one pub or bar owner for flouting the rule. Even boards specifying drinking age remain absent in most local bars.
Ashish Kothare, city Head of National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), believes there was little confusion among “responsible” pub and bar owners who do not allow those under 21 years to enter the pubs. “For many, the mere threat of suspension of licences is enough…But, there are irresponsible bar owners, and action should be taken against them,” he said.
