Gloom in pubs, city’s CBD wears deserted look

Regulars who went to pubs met with signs that said beer would not be served

The city’s central business district of M.G. Road, Brigade Road and Church Street wore a deserted look on Saturday evening, usually a busy time for the area as thousands of revellers descend to welcome the weekend in their favourite watering hole.

With the ban on sale of liquor within 500 metres of National Highways affecting the CBD, a pall of gloom has descended on the establishments which were forced to stop serving alcohol from midnight on Saturday. Many of these places, that took to serving non-alcoholic beverages like coffee, saw some customers come in but others chose to remain closed.

At Pecos, one of the city’s iconic pubs, regulars managed to come in and were met with signs on each floor that said beer would not be served. Many chose to leave, some stayed back for tea and dosa.

At other places, visitors were advised at the entrance that the only drinks available were fruit punch, tea and coffee. While many knew of the ban, those who didn’t had a hard time realising that the city’s most famous pub district would no longer serve alcohol.

“We kept reading the news but today it feels real. I never thought I’d sit in these rooms ever with a cup of tea keeping me company instead of a mug of beer,” said Kaushik Majumdar, a regular at Pecos.