Covid in India: nightlife ravaged by health restrictions in Bangalore

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3 min

In India, ten months of activity restrictions brought the nightlife scene to its knees. Example in Bangalore, once famous for its bars but which has faced many closures since March. Reportage.

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With our correspondent in Bangalore, Côme Bastin

We are in the evening at Big Brewsky, one of the largest breweries in Asia. However, the establishment is empty. Since March, Indian bars have closed to fight the pandemic. While customers can still buy take-out alcohol, that doesn't make up for the shortfall. This despite a race for promotions, explains Martin Bernard, Canadian master brewer of the establishment: “  For 500 rupees you get 2 liters of beer. Usually it is the price of 500ml. So we give 4 times more beer for the same price. We have around 750 tables, 2,500 seats and there are 3 customers! The situation is very alarming . "

Once nicknamed the 'pub city of India', Bangalore is now paying the cost of 6 months of restrictions on its nightlife. If this giant brewery manages to survive, many others have gone out of business since containment. Owner of several legendary pubs, Vijar Suvarna regrets: “  More than 500 groups have started their careers in my bars! But the containment has seriously affected us. We must continue to pay the employees, the rent, the license every month, even when there are no more customers. People prefer to stay in front of Netflix and have meals delivered. So I decided to close my six establishments. "

Member of the National Association of Indian Restaurateurs, Vijar Suvarna wrote to the government of Karnataka to demand the reopening of bars with sanitary precautions.

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