Chandigarh is one of the most civil cities in the country, laid out on a grid that is one of the best examples of logical city planning.

It is also a city that takes its food, drink and nightlife seriously. On April 1, Union Territories administration issued the  ‘Controlling of Places of Public Amusement Policy 2016’ which among other things stated that bars and nightclubs etc will now have to shut shop by midnight, and not stay open till 2 am as allowed earlier.

However, another clause in the policy, that directed bars/restobars/nightclubs to avoid scantily clad women, in their advertising and promotions was the one that created furore when it was reported in the media.  Reports such as this one Times of India (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Chandigarh-set-to-ban-short-skirts-in-discotheques/articleshow/51902629.cms ) generated the buzz. Social media soon caught on to what seen as a “ban on women wearing short skirts in nightclubs and discotheques as it was seen as ‘seditious’.”

This was soon termed as ‘moral policing by the administration’ and the jokes, and outrage, flew fast and thick. A rankled Chandigarh administration was forced to clarify its position today (April 20^th). “The only motive of framing this policy is to provide conducive atmosphere for the guests visiting such places and to avoid any unlawful activities or any untoward incident,” stated the Chandigarh Administration in its press note.

The “Controlling of Places of Public Amusement, 2016, has been framed on the 2015 directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The policy came into effect on April 1, but was only recently reported in the national media. According to the administration, “some of the newspapers and electronic media has misquoted, mis-interpreted and distorted the facts related to this policy, especially with the section 6 of the policy.”

The administration’s note states that the news articles have, “distorted the whole policy by picking up words and phrases from different part of the Policy and have tried to create sensational news.” The administration says that they have not said  “that females can’t wear skirts, while going to the places defined under the policy.”

According to them, the “Controlling of Places of Public Amusement, policy 2016, has been carefully drafted by the administration with a view to regulate the related businesses in Chandigarh. It aims at taking preventive steps timely for the convenience of citizens and to maintain law and order within the city.”

Chandigarh, has plenty of restobars, microbreweries and clubs. So, now you can wear whatever you want, just remember the club will close at midnight and not 2 am as before. Details of the rule can be found in a PDF document titled ‘Disco_Policy, downloadable  here http://chandigarh.gov.in/pdf/Disco_Policy.pdf