Hyderabad
The recent incident of rape of a teenage girl and the presence of teenage boys who violated her at a pub clearly show that many rules have been violated. Though there has been a furor over the incident by opposition parties, it has become clear that the Excise department has not been following the norms due to which such incidents are on the rise.
According to state government rules, all pubs must install CCTV cameras which should be linked to excise offices so they can monitor the activities in the pubs and clubs. Though the pubs do have CCTVs, they are not linked to the Excise department.
The opposition parties in the state, Congress, and BJP, have been alleging that the reason behind this behavior is the prevalence of mamool raj. It is said that the excise department in HITEC city gets about Rs 50 lakh a month.
The opposition parties feel this is the reason behind the authorities not taking timely action in the incidents of drugs in pubs. Also, in the name of recreation, various activities are being allowed during weekends.
Another major issue is pubs allow students who are younger than 18 years for birthday parties and other parties during weekends, and these parties sometimes go on till late into the night. The Excise department is the authority to give licenses to the pubs and clubs. However, opposition parties allege that the government has been giving licenses liberally, which is leading to untoward incidents.