Girls prefer to party safe

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Youngsters bring home the party fun

Archana Mishra’s friends knew where to find her on weekends. A bar in South Delhi was her favourite hangout till she and her gang of girls decided to party at home. Like Archana, many young girls are increasingly missing out the fun they used to have at bars following the news of various molestation cases.

“Hardly a month passes by without any news of rape or molestation case related to a bar. So, we have no other option, but to play safe and bring home the fun we used to have at bars,” says Archana, who still raises the toast, however, the cool settings of a bar have been replaced by safer boundaries of her flat in Safdarjung.
“Guwahati molestation incident, Park Street gang rape in Kolkata or gang rape in Bangaluru, the list is as long as spine-chilling it is,” feels Tanvi Sharma, a software developer from Noida, another party lover.
“I don’t go to bar without a male company, but even then my father keeps calling every hour to make sure I am doing fine. Therefore, my friends and I now prefer to take a chill pill at one of our places and keep enjoying!” Tanvi adds.
Recently, six cases of rape or molestation were registered in Gurgaon within a month. Also, the incidents of harassment of young women and men by self-proclaimed “moral police” are quite common.
Following these incidences many bars have tightened up their security and hired female bouncers, says Shiv Bhatt, supervisor at Aqua bar in Delhi. “Still, security is a big issue with female customers,” he adds.
Mritunjai Tiwari, general manager, Vapour bar agrees that the recent cases have affected the business at party hub, Gurgaon, “Now we don’t hesitate to turn away the customers, even couples, if we are suspicious of their behaviour,” he adds.