Pune’s bars and liquor shops will stay open for most of Ganeshotsav after all. On Friday, September 11, the Pune district administration withdrew an order that would have stopped alcohol sales for almost the entire festival, after a Bombay High Court bench warned it would set the order aside itself. Sales now stop on two days: September 14, the festival’s first day, until 4 pm, and the whole of September 25, Anant Chaturdashi.

What the collector had ordered

The original order, reported by Punekar News earlier this week, drew its tightest ring around the Khadak, Vishrambaug and Faraskhana police station areas, which cover the central peths where the biggest mandals draw crowds every night. Inside that zone, shops were to stay shut from September 14 to 25, and on September 26 until the immersion processions ended. The rest of the city faced closures on named days: Ganesh Chaturthi, the fifth and seventh days, and immersion day. Reports put the total at 10 to 12 days.

Associations of hotel owners and wine shop owners took it to court. Chief Justice M.C. Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna asked the administration why it had singled out Pune when Mumbai and other districts had no such rule. “What is the rationale behind choosing only Pune?” the bench asked, according to Deccan Chronicle, and it called the order a stigma on the city’s residents. The judges accepted that police must keep order during the festival. They said that concern could not justify shutting licensed businesses for 10 days, and that the state could not treat every drinker as a law-and-order risk, The Free Press Journal reported. Additional Government Pleader Kedar Dighe then told the bench the administration had cut the prohibition down.

The rules that now apply

• Monday, September 14 (Ganesh Chaturthi): no alcohol sales until 4 pm. Bars and shops can open after that.
• Friday, September 25 (Anant Chaturdashi): a full dry day. It was already a dry day before this order, so the court’s intervention leaves it unchanged.
• Morning of September 26: Punekar News reports the restriction runs until immersion finishes that morning. The city’s main processions usually stretch through the night.
• All other festival days: normal licensed hours, including in the three central police station areas.

What it means for residents and businesses

Restaurants, bars and wine shops in the peths get back roughly 10 trading days in the fortnight when the old city sees its heaviest footfall. Festival crowds fill Laxmi Road, Shivaji Road and Bajirao Road every evening, and the original order would have kept bar shutters down while those crowds walked past.

For residents, the change matters after dark. A family touring mandals on the first evening can stop for dinner and a drink as usual once 4 pm passes. On September 25, restaurants can serve food but not alcohol, and that carries into the next morning.

The episode also leaves a record for future festivals. The administration dropped its order within a day of the hearing rather than defend it. If the collector tries a multi-day festival ban again, hotel associations can point to a High Court bench asking why Pune needs rules that Mumbai, Thane and Nashik do without.

Traffic curbs stay in place

The court order does not touch the traffic plan. Pune traffic police have barred heavy and oversized vehicles from 12 central road stretches round the clock from September 12 to 26, under an order issued by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Sandeep Bhajibhakre, The Free Press Journal reported. The list covers Laxmi, Tilak, Shivaji, Bajirao, Kelkar, Kumthekar and Shastri roads, plus Karve Road, FC Road, JM Road, Sinhagad Road and Ganesh Road, according to Punekar News. Ambulances, fire engines, police vehicles and vehicles carrying festival tableaux are exempt. Rail passengers should also check the Hadapsar-Ghorpadi line block we covered on September 8, which cuts 42 trains during the festival.

What to watch

Reports so far do not say whether the bench has closed the petitions or kept them pending. Bar and shop owners along immersion routes should confirm their September 25 and 26 timings with the State Excise office, since the earlier order tied some closures to the moment processions cleared their streets.

Sources: The Free Press Journal, Punekar News, Deccan Chronicle, Punekar News (traffic)

This report was compiled and written with AI assistance from publicly reported sources, and reviewed for accuracy.