The next time you visit a pub in Hyderabad, chances are that you might be very well under watch. Smoking zones, dark corners and other places would be under CCTV coverage.
Cautions in establishments will increase in the next few weeks to check if customers are smoking ganja, snorting cocaine, or using other form of drugs.
Managements of pubs in the city were instructed to pass information about customers who use drugs and narcotics to the Telangana Prohibition and Excise Department. Toll free number of the department, 1800 425 2523, was announced to pass the information.
These instructions were issued at a meeting held in a hall packed with owners and representative of prominent pubs in and around the city. The meeting was held at Tourism Plaza Hotel, Begumpet, on Monday afternoon, two days after Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao called for stern action against usage of drugs.
Prohibition and Excise Minister V Srinivas Goud said that action will be taken if drug usage is found in any of the pubs and attempts to influence the situation through politicians, or others, will not work.
Mr Srinivas listed out some measures such as asking waiters to pass information about customers who are suspected to be using drugs, checking how frequently a customer is stepping in and out of the establishment, if anything is being mixed in cigarettes, installing cameras in smoking zones.
He has invited suggestions on what else can be done.
The pub owners took turns to say that drugs usage was not detected in any of their establishments.
The Minister, and Prohibition and Excise Department Commissioner Sarfraz Ahmed said that earlier the department officials did not look into the issue at microscopic level. The commissioner said that this changed as both police and Excise officials have set focus on the issue. Some of the owners and representatives said that they frisk customers, besides employing dog squads which can detect drugs.
Stating that while ganja is cultivated in our country, other drugs are brought from other countries through ports, planes, he said that people from Nigeria, and African continent join colleges and get other students used to drugs.
“Nigerians who are arrested in drugs case will be sent back. If needed, a charted fight will be booked to send them back to their country as per Chief Minister’s instructions,” said Mr Srinivas.