Three ‘loud’ nightclubs in Sector 7, 26 face the music as UT acts on complaint by locals

The committee members, officials said, will take complaints from concerned locals of Sector 7 and Sector 26 from 6 pm to midnight, between August 11 and August 18. Section 133 of CrPC is to prevent any kind of nuisance and involve a sense of urgency if the step was not taken, irreparable danger to be happen to the general public.

As per details, the three nightclubs against which action was initiated were The Grapho 07-Lounge Bar, Kakuna (Bar) and The Vault, all situated in a row on the rearside of the showrooms in Sector 7.

All the nightclubs under scanner face residential areas in Sector 7 and legal proceedings were initiated in the court of SDM (East) Nitish Singla, for what administration officials said was an attempt to prevent any kind of nuisance and involve a sense of urgency to stop irreparable danger from being caused to the general public.

The UT administration was prompted to take action after Sector 7 residents, accompanied by area councillor Mahesh Inder Singh Sidhu, met Chandigarh Adviser Dharam Pal on Wednesday and apprised him about the nightmare being faced by them every night.

Sources said that Adviser Dharam Pal then took feedback about the situation from Deputy Commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh and DGP Praveer Ranjan and directed them to deal with the noise pollution strictly.

“The owners of nightclubs and bars claim that they are allowed to operate their businesses till 3 am. They can only serve liquor, food etc till 3 am, but not play loud music. Even in normal circumstances, if they want to play music, they have to take prior permission from the local administration. We are disappointed with the response of UT pollution control board, which is primarily responsible for checking the volume levels. The police respond to our calls but fail to take any coercive legal action against the violators. It is a nuisance every night, especially the weekends ,” a resident of Sector 7 told The Indian Express on condition of anonymity.

Both Sector 7 and Sector 26 are situated on Madhya Marg and house more than 14 night clubs, bars and discos.
Area councillor, Mahesh Inder Singh Sidhu, said, “I have been taking up this issue for the last many years. During the pandemic, the situation was under control due to the restrictions on timings. But as the Covid restrictions were removed and businesses slowly reopened, the problem resurfaced. People get drunk and then tend to indulge in rash driving, often entering the residential areas and some times even damaging public and private properties. Adviser Dharam Pal has assured us that the noise pollution will be dealt with strictly. But a lot of things depend on the local police as well.”

SDM (East) Nitish Singh said, “I have already initiated proceedings against at least three night clubs under Section 133 of CrPC. Earlier, proceedings were initiated under Section 139 of CrPC. A fresh committee has been constituted now to find out violations on part of nightclub owners. The committee members will attend to the complaints of Sector 7 residents from 6 pm to midnight, from August 11 till August 18.”

Contacted, Rakesh Kumar, owner of the one of the nightclubs under lens, said, “Sector 7 residents have been leveling baseless allegations against three-four specific nightclubs. We have been operating our outlets in a very professional manner. We have made our premises soundproof. The music does not reach the residential area. Earlier, also complaints were made against us, but the authorities found nothing then.”