Throw out dress code enforced by clubs: Assembly panel

Mangalore Today/DHNS

Bangalore, June 7, 2013: Wearing dhoti and chappal will no longer be a bar for entry into some of the prestigious clubs in Karnataka if the government accepts a legislature committee recommendation for scrapping the dress code enforced by them.

The committee, whose interim report on the functioning ofthe clubs was tabled in the Assembly today, recommended that no club in the State should have dress code and the government should issue strict instructions to them to follow a rule of allowing entry to ordinary citizens wearing decent clothes.

 

Bangalore Golf Club, Century Club, Karnataka State CricketAssociation, Bangalore Turf Club, Bowring Institute Club and Bangalore Club were among those visited by the Committee.

It also perused information furnished by the Revenue Department regarding 22 clubs within the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (city corporation) jurisdiction as it could not go there.

The committee visited four clubs in Mysore. The committee noticed during its visits that some clubs were still blindly following the system laid down during the British rule.

"Some prestigious clubs have their own dress code, and mostly give membership to foreigners, those who have black money and foreign culture", it said.

The committee also noticed that some clubs are engaged in business activities and not for the purpose for which they were granted permission and "cheating the government".

Some clubs have secured government land on lease or rent but the money payable to the government by them is very negligible.

It recommended creation of a monitoring committee to oversee functioning of clubs, granting club membership to MPs, MLAs and MLCs of local areas and urgently providing land for establishing constitutional club for the benefit of the current and former MLAs.

The committee also wanted the government to enact Club Recreation Act that would make it mandatory for clubs to grant membership to winners of prestigious national and state awards, top sports personalities, ex-servicemen and front-line leaders who worked for social development.

The House committee was constituted last year after the then Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah (who is now Chief Minister) and some other members complained about the irregularities in clubs.