Bar dancers hold sway as cops look away

As the wooden door opens, the song Babuji zara dheere chalo floats in the smoke-filled bar. A young Nepali welcomes the guests with a warm handshake followed by “How are you sir?” The moment one steps inside this bar located on the first floor of an old building in Secunderabad, the decibel levels shoot up. As the eyes adjust to the darkness, one can see people of all age groups showering money on the girl who smiles continuously as she does her ‘jhatkas’ amid cheers, whistles and clinking of glasses. Is this legal? No, say the police who are all set to crack down on such bars (called ‘bubbling pubs’ by regulars). Expresso visited one such bar, popularly referred to as the ‘Chhamia bar’ in Secunderabad and found that by late night, the girls who were singing began dancing as well. According to police reports, at least five bar and restaurant outlets in the Twin Cities have obtained permission to host orchestras. However, at least a dozen bars in the city have bar dancers as well at various places such as Ameerpet, Kukatpally, RTC X Roads, Abids and Secunderabad. Expresso visited one ‘bubbling pub’ at Secunderabad. The manager there said that as per requests of customers, bar dancers are arranged. At another dance bar, a smiling waiter asks, “What would you like to have sir? Banana, Apple or Orange?” These are not fruit juices to go with the liquor but the code names of the bar dancers, aged between 20 and 27 with whom one can sing and dance, of course after shelling out some money. Explaining the codes, a bouncer says that ‘Banana’ stands for girls clad in jeans and tiny tops who will help you sing and dance with her. ‘Apple’ signifies girls clad in Anarkali sarees, while ‘Orange’ is for the scantily clad girls who escort you while you drink or dance. Police officials say that some bars have been given permission only to allow singers. “Bar dancers were banned a few years ago. But recently, after someone approached the Court, an interim suspension of one particular clause was suspended. But this does not mean that permission has been given to allow girls to dance,” a police official said. Hyderabad Police Commissioner B Prasada Rao said that the department has already cancelled licences of five bars which were violating norms. “We will crack down on all those bars who are violating norms,” he said. Besides Secunderabad, such bars are prevalent at Abids, RTC crossroads, Kukatpally and Ameerpet. Smitha (name changed), one of the girls in the bar at Secunderabad, said that she had come from Mumbai. “I make Rs 10,000-20,000 every day but Hyderabad is not as profitable as Mumbai,” she says. Interestingly, even during weekdays, the bars are crowded. “We have regular customers and they only visit the place to have a drink and enjoy themselves,” a bar employee said. By MOULI MAREEDU

Illegal cyber cafes face police whip

City police are all set to crack the whip on illegal internet centres which are violating norms and regulations of the Hyderabad Police Act. According to police sources, hundereds of Internet cafes have been operating without the authorisation from the Police Department in the Twin Cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. As per Hyderabad police guidelines, every browsing centres has to maintain a log book, CC cameras and contact details of the visitors. Besides, internet cafes offer special tariff for couples. “We offer special tariff to couple as they want to chat and use internet. We provide special cabins to them as per their convenience,’’ said Ahmmad Khan, an internet operator in Old City. Replying to a query, he said that, “if we comply with all the rules and regulations, we will lose our regular customers.’’ Even in Khairatabad, Punjagutta and Ameerpet, Internet centres do not maintain log books to keep track of visitors and their activities. “Initially, we maintained log books and registered visitors names and their contact details. But the customers are reluctant to give their details,’’ said an Internet centre owner at Ameerpet. Though the browsing centres are violating rules and regulations, police are not initiating action against them. However, B Prasada Rao, Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad, said, “We have identified hundreds of Internet centres which are violating rules and regulations. Owners who have failed to maintain log books and install CCTVs inside their cafes have been issued notices earlier. Instructions have already been given to all police stations in the Hyderabad Commissionerate to crack down the whip on illegal Internet centres.’’ By MOULI MAREEDU

Recession exacts toll on IT marriages

The fall from grace couldn’t be pictured in sharper contrast. It was barely over a year ago that these guys — only in their early 20s but with fat pay packets — were on top of the world, and certainly way up on matchmakers’ lists. Cut to the present and the gloom of recession. The scenario is one of considerably reduced salaries and even job losses. Gone is the springy, globe-trotting stride and the swollen-headedness that comes from making good too quickly and too easily. And prominence has in some cases been exchanged for notoriety. Of late, the majority of complaints relating to marital discord pouring into police stations happen to involve the information technology community. Hyderabad, next only to Bangalore among the country’s leading IT hubs, has thousands of “associates” as they are called — who once walked tall but now are shuffling about dispiritedly on drastically reduced pay or are even without jobs. The misery doesn’t end here — they have to contend with loans contracted at a time when the future seemed in their pockets. But the worst part in many cases is strained relations with spouses. Says M Kistaiah, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), CCS: “Every day, we receive as many as 20 complaints from quarrelling couples, with IT pairs accounting for nearly 15 of these.” For instance — Sujatha (name changed) who works at a well-known IT company in Madhapur — complained that her husband, who lost his job at another outfit, was not spending time with her anymore. Even though she had comforted her husband and urged him to take things in the stride and hope for the best, there was a marked change in his behaviour. He began to find fault with her for trivial things like being held up at the office, and began to curb her freedom in many ways like preventing her from going to the movies with friends on weekends, she said in her complaint. More distressing is the case of one Anuradha (name changed) who said her husband was using her credit cards to hit the bars. And he returns home drunk and beats her up at night. The police intend to counsel the couple but the husband is currently out of town. Over the last six months, complaints have been piling up at the CCS. “This year, at least 300 complaints have been lodged by IT wives after marital discord following either or both of them losing their jobs,” says Kistaiah. “Whenever we receive such complaints, we counsel them and register a case only if they insist,” he said. By Mouli Mareedu

ACDs will help prevent train mishaps’

Even as the Railway Ministry sanctioned latest technology -- Anti Collision Device (ACD) - to prevent train accidents, it was not being used despite number of train accidents occurring in various parts in the country. If anti-Collision device had been installed in the trains, the tragedy that struck Goa Sampark Express and Mewar Express near Mathura, could have been averted, feels Rajaram Bojji, who invented the ACD. The proposal to install ACD in trains to prevent train accidents has been there for the last 10 years. The officials conducted a trial in Jalandhar and Amritsar sections but the equipment has not been installed till date. The ACD was invented by Rajaram Bojji, a Hyderabad-based retired railway officer when he was working as a Managing Director, Konkan Railways in 1999. When the recent train accident occurred near Mathura and claimed the lives of as many as 20 children, Rajaram, wrote a letter to the Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee to install ACD systems in trains to prevent recurrence of such incidents. When Express met the ACD inventor at his residence-- Durgabhai Desmukh Colony in Hyderabad, he told about the importance of ACD and how it will help prevent train accidents. The ACD is a collision prevention system usually installed in the locomotive as well as in the guards couch. It is connected with the global positioning system (GPS) and acts as watchdog, constantly overlooking other trainbound ACDs and if they happen to find themselves on the same track and coming closer to each other, they automatically stop, thereby preventing head-on and rear end collisions. ``I worked for 90 days on the software system with the assistance of Hyderabad- based Kernex hardware and Information Technology (IT) company. The installation of ACDs are cheaper and they will be available for Rs 1 lakh,’’ Rajaram said. The ACDs can sense even a small rod on the railway tracks from a distance of 2 km, he said. ``When ACD was invented by me and I got the patent rights, a number of foreign Governments approached me to buy the latest technology. I was reluctant to sell it as I am very eager to implement it in the Indian railways to prevent accidents,’’ he said. By Mouli Mareedu