More than half of Bengaluru pubs yet to renew their licences

Of the nearly 50 microbrewery licence holders, only around 30 are functioning

With microbreweries and pubs specialising in craft beer, Bengaluru used to wear it’s unofficial tag ‘pub city of India’ with pride. But more than a year into the pandemic, and the situation remains bleak. The once thriving pubs are struggling with high rents, increasing cost of operations, and lack of business for four months during the lockdown in 2020 and three months this year. A majority of the pubs in the city are yet to renew their excise licences. Karunakar Hegde, vice-president of the Federation of Wine Merchants’ Associations of Karnataka and secretary of Bengaluru Madya Vyaparigala Sangha, estimated that of the 500-odd pubs in the city, more than 300 were yet to renew their licences. “Though there are around 50 microbrewry licence holders, only around 30 are functioning,” he said. The one concession made by the Excise Department was to extend the facility for proprietors to pay licence renewal fees in two instalments. “It was extended in 2020–21 and in the current fiscal (2021–22) as well. However, with months of no business, many licence holders were not even able to pay the first instalment, the deadline for which was June 30. The deadline for the second instalment is December-end,” said Mr. Hedge.