Kolkata: Several restaurants across Kolkata have restricted the volume of alcohol that you can order to four 60ml pegs during the pujas. This will prevent drunken behaviour. While restaurants are urging patrons not to take the wheel once they have had a peg too many, they are also arranging for drivers and cars through apps.The Hotel and Restaurants’ Association of Eastern India (HRAEI) has asked its member restaurants to implement the ‘four-peg’ rule. “Some have started doing it with good results. We have been doing it and it has helped curb unruly, drunken behaviour to a great extent. Our staff have been instructed to screen drinkers. In case someone insists on a fifth one, the waiter is supposed to call the manager. It’s his discretion to allow him half a peg more but not a large one,” said Sudesh Poddar, president of HRAEI and the owner of Songhai-Manthan and MS Bar & Lounge.“We will be following the rule and restrict orders to three large pegs or four small ones. We encourage responsible drinking. This will ensure that our patrons have a good time and go back safely,” said Anjan Chatterjee CMD of Specialty Restaurants that owns outlets like Mainland China, Oh!Calcutta, Cafe Mezzuna and Hoppipola.“We started a poster and WhatsApp campaign against drink driving three years ago which continues. People are now well aware of the rule so most stick to limits. Ours being a family restaurant, we have rarely had unruly customers insisting on a fifth peg, but we do screen customers and desist from serving if one is found inebriated. ,” said Shiladitya Chaudhury, owner and co-founder of Chapter 2 on Southern Avenue.Several Park Street restaurants said they have been following the rule ‘unofficially’, though they have not yet received any formal request. “We get a family crowd and alcohol orders rarely cross two-three pegs per person. But there have been instances when we have had to stop inebriated people from entering the restaurant,” said Siddharth Kothari of Peter Hu.What if a customer takes three pegs in one restaurant and then moves into another? Screening is more important than restricting the number of pegs, asked Anirban Sengupta, co-chapter head of National Restaurants Association of India and owner of WhatsUp Café on Southern Avenue.
