All those attending late-night parties in pubs in the State capital might not get a ‘high’. Those managing to run these hangouts using their connections are surely getting ‘higher returns’!
“It could be anything between one to two crore rupees a month,” says a police officer overseeing the ongoing investigation into the recent raid by Task Force sleuths on a pub in star hotel here. Inputs received by the police officers suggest that persons running such places, be it a pub or bar, are making a killing.
Majority of these places have something called entry fee. This amount along with the money spent on liquor and food comes to ₹ 10,000 to ₹ 15,000 per person on an average. If 200 people attend a late-night party with average expenses of ₹ 20,000 per head, the total money generated on that single night would be around ₹ 40 lakh.
If the operators manage to convene two such parties a week, they would generate ₹ 80 lakh. In a month, they would be earning ₹ 3.2 crore for eight nights. “Even if the turnout is less, a minimum of two crores is guaranteed. If one crore is spent towards expenses of salaries of workers, liquor, food and managing the authorities concerned, one crore rupees income a month is not a big deal,” a police officer unwilling to be named explained.
How can operators of such places ensure maximum turnout is a question raised by the investigators. Replies from such organisers was interesting. With the help of the local officials, they run the bar or pub for two to three hours beyond permitted timings.
Normally, majority of the pubs or bars would be shut by midnight. “Operators of the places like the one raided by Task Force continue to operate after midnight and in fact that becomes advantageous for them as some take pride in partying after midnight,” the police officer observed.
It is said the raid on the pub in the star hotel was the consequence of the ‘genuine heartburn’ of owners of other pubs and bars who were being compelled to close by midnight. They had been watching helpless as their competitor was managing to run his place from midnight to 3 a.m.
They reportedly approached the higher-ups who directed their sub-ordinates to ascertain facts. When a police team sent a decoy party, they were surprised to see lot of people coming to the place after midnight and partying till 2 a.m. to 3 a.m.
