Kannur, Feb. 18 -- Kerala Excise Minister M B Rajesh on Wednesday defended the revision of bar operating hours in Kerala, stating that the government has not extended timings but merely unified them across the State.
Speaking to mediapersons here, Rajesh said bars in notified tourism destinations were already permitted to operate from 10 AM to midnight, and the same schedule has now been applied statewide to other bars.
The annual licence fees for all bars, including those in tourism areas, remain Rs 35 lakh. He added that bars are allowed in and around notified tourism destinations. The previous timing of bars and hotels in non-tourism destinations was from 11 AM to 11 PM.
On Tuesday, the government issued a notification extending the b...