The State government, on Saturday, decided to extend the deadline for closing bars and restaurants in Bangalore city by two hours, to 1 a.m. during weekends.
The relaxation in closing hours is restricted to Fridays and Saturdays. However, licensed eateries can remain open till 1 a.m. on all days of the week in the limits of Bangalore City Police Commissionerate.
Making the announcement, Home Minister K.J. George said the relaxation in closing hours of bars and restaurants and eateries would be implemented on an experimental basis for three months. “We will review the decision after three months,” he said.
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Earlier, bars and restaurants were allowed to remain open till 11 p.m. On account of changing lifestyles and working hours, several civic organisations and prominent citizens of the city had demanded relaxation of closing timings. Different stakeholders had demanded a relaxation for all seven days of the week, but the government decided to implement it only during weekends. “Our intention to extend closing time is to ensure availability of food to people who leave offices/factories late at night,” he said.