Bars and liquor off-shops in parts of Calcutta’s north and south will remain shut from 6pm on Saturday till the end of the polls in the Howrah and Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituencies on Monday, May 20.

Voting in the fifth phase of the elections in Bengal will take place in Howrah, Uluberia, Barrackpore, Hooghly, Arambagh, Serampore and Bongaon.

Since the constituencies of Howrah and Barrackpore adjoin Calcutta, the excise department has directed all bars and off-shops in the Calcutta north and south excise divisions to remain shut from Saturday evening till the end of the voting on Monday.

This is in keeping with the directives of the Election Commission of India, excise officials said.

“The district magistrates of Howrah and North 24-Parganas and the retailers, including bar and club owners, under the jurisdiction of the excise divisions of Calcutta north and south have been directed to prevent the sale of liquor from 6pm on Saturday till the end of the polling process on May 20,” an official said.

“The ban will be in effect in the Dum Dum parliamentary constituency, too, since it adjoins Barrackpore.”

Calcutta’s south excise district has its borders around Ballygunge, Jodhpur Park, Taratala and Watgunge. All bars and off-shops within this area will remain shut during the period.

“We have received a notice from the excise department that states that the club’s bar will have to be shut from 6pm on Saturday and can open only after the end of the polls on Monday,” said Amit Bose of the Indian Life Saving Society (ILSS), formerly known as Anderson Club. Several other clubs have received a similar notice.

The north excise division includes Cossipore, Beleghata, Bowbazar, Hare Street, Entally, Tangra and Muchipara.

“The excise department has sent us a notice informing us that the bar has to be shut down from 6pm on Saturday. It can be opened after 6pm on Monday,” said Malkit Singh, owner of the Cecil Bar-cum-Restaurant in Bowbazar.

The areas in the city beyond the two excise divisions include Alipore and Bidhannagar. The bars and off-shops in these areas will remain open.

“The bar at Hyatt Regency and ITC Sonar can remain open because the first is under the Bidhannagar excise district and the second under Alipore,” the official said.

“We have contacted our counterparts in Calcutta and Barrackpore to ensure there is no transportation of liquor (to Howrah) during this period,” an officer in the Howrah commissionerate said.