The government was hoping to get the Governor's approval after his return Friday
from a trip to Europe.
But instead of giving his assent, Krishna returned the ordinance to the
government, seeking clarifications about the rehabilitation plan for bar girls
and the status of a litigation filed in a local court challenging the ban
order.
A home department official said the government was looking into the issues
raised by the Governor and a detailed report was likely to be submitted over
the next few days.
"This is not the end of the road for us. We will clarify all the issues raised
by the Governor and we are quite hopeful the ordinance will be approved after
that," said the senior official, who did not want to be named.
"It is prudent to address all the concerns before the ban order is implemented
since it has become a very contentious issue. We have to prepare solid legal
grounds before we go ahead and start implementing it," he said.
The dance bars, euphemistically called ladies' bars, usually have women
entertaining customers looking for food, liquor and sometimes sex.
In many of these places, dancers don skimpy outfits and mingle with the
customers, while dancing to film music.
The government had in March announced its decision to shut dance bars across
the state on the grounds that they promoted prostitution and adversely affected
society, especially the youth.
The long-awaited decision to shut down the bars, many of which are alleged to
be a front for prostitution, was cleared at a cabinet meeting on June 1.
While the order will see the closure of nearly 2,000 bars in the state, dance
performances in star hotels and clubs have been exempted. The ordinance
provides for stringent penalties for those flouting the order.
The return of the ordinance by the Governor has raised hopes of a
rehabilitation package for dance bar girls, who are reportedly migrating to
their home states and being driven to prostitution in the absence of an
alternate means to earn a living.
"This is a really positive move on the part of the Governor. Most of the girls
had lost hope of being rehabilitated by the state government or other
agencies," said Varsha Kale, president of the Indian Bar Girls' Union.
"The return of the ordinance has raised hopes that the government will now at
least think seriously about the rehabilitation of the girls, most of whom may
turn to prostitution in the face of acute poverty," said Kale.
"The situation will become very alarming, when all of the 75,000 girls working
in the dance bars in the state are thrown out on the street after the
implementation of the order in the existing form."
Indo-Asian News Service
