License of six dance bars to be cancelled in Odisha capital

Bhubaneswar: Acting against illegal dance bars in the State capital, Commissionerate police recommended the excise department to cancel their licenses.

The dance bars have been asked to temporarily shut their establishments in Bhubaneswar. A letter has been written to the excise department recommending to cancel the licenses of six dance bars for their illegal operation, a source in the Commissionerate Police said.

The six dance bars including Rain The Club, Pentagon and Deepali International at Cuttack Road, at Kalpana Square, Oasis Bar at Bapuji Nagar and Solan-Inn Bar at Kharavela Nagar area in Bhubaneswar.

Last week, three dance bars in the heart of the city were raided by the Commissionerate police for employing young girls without obtaining necessary license.

As per Odisha excise rules, 2017, the bar owners need to obtain license from the excise commissioner to employ female dancers and singers.

However, not a single bar possess license to employ the female artists, police source said.

According to reports, at least six dance bars were raided by the Commissionerate police in last one month for illegal engagement of female workers in dance and music shows.

As per the rules, the female dancers should not wear provocative clothes and not receive money from the customers. The bar owners should install CCTV cameras, furnish details of the female employees to the excise department and the performance stage should have railing of 3-ft height with 5-ft distance from the customers’ sitting place. The customers should be restricted from going close to the dancers.