Students and staff members of St Ann’s School in Mangaluru took to the streets on Thursday to protest the opening of a bar near their school. The stiff opposition they put up managed to convince the mayor, Kavitha Sanil, against taking part in the inauguration of the bar.
Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) Mayor Sanil said that when she reached the premises, she did not expect to see hundreds of school kids gathered there. “I reached the bar at around 9:30 in the morning and I saw that students, teachers and local residents were out on the streets. After speaking to the demonstrators gathered there and after listening to their complaints, I learnt that they suspect the bar is located just 80 metres away from the school premises,” said Sanil.
The Karnataka Excise Licenses Rules 1967 mandates that establishments cannot sell liquor within 100 metres of an educational institution. The owner of the bar, meanwhile, asserted that he followed all the rules and that the bar is located 120 metres away from the school.
“The school authorities raised doubts about the measurements taken by the Excise officials, alleging that they were taken from one part of the school premises to stretch it to 120 metres,” Sanil added.
She said that she will now look into the matter again and ensure that the bar has indeed followed the rules laid down by the Excise Department. “The owner assured me that he has followed all the legal procedures, but after speaking to the school authorities, I have ordered concerned officials to verify the measurements again,” the mayor said.
Nonetheless, the owner of the bar went ahead and inaugurated it without the mayor being present for the ceremony.