"We were waiting for the notification to be issued before taking legal help. Our
petition is ready and we will move the High Court on Tuesday," said Manjit
Singh Abrol, spokesperson of Fight for Rights of Bar Owners Association.
"Our petition mainly focuses on two issues - one is loss of employment for over
100,000 people who have been associated with this trade for long and the second
is the discriminatory nature of the ban order," Abrol said.
"The Government's ban order is highly discriminatory. While it allows dance
performances in clubs and star hotels, only live shows in bars have been
brought under the ban purview. It's a great injustice to our industry."
The dance bar association's representative said the owners were expecting
immediate relief from the court as it involved the livelihood of a large number
of people.
"If we don't get relief then we are prepared to take our fight to the Supreme
Court," said Abrol.
The state assembly last month unanimously passed a bill that sought to ban
dance bars. The ordinance provides for stringent penalties for those flouting
the order.
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 June 1.
It, however, received a setback when Governor SM Krishna returned the ordinance
back to the cabinet without signing it, saying the assembly should first debate
the issue.
While the Government order will see the closure of nearly 1,500 bars in the
state, dance performances in star hotels and clubs have been exempted.
The passage of the bill without major changes has dashed hopes of a
rehabilitation package for dance bar girls who are reportedly returning to
their home states or being driven to prostitution.
The dance bars, euphemistically called ladies' bars, usually have women
entertaining customers looking for food, liquor and sometimes sex.
In many such places, dancers don skimpy outfits and mingle with the customers
while dancing to Hindi film music.
