-has now applied for dance licence
By Subhana Shiwmangal
The proprietor of the Eclipse Sports Bar at Leonora which is at the centre of noise nuisance complaints published in the Stabroek News has refuted allegations made by letter writer, Jai Lall and says his facility is soundproof.
In the meanwhile, the bar has applied for a dance licence, according to an advertisement in the Guyana Times.
The key complaints as published in the Stabroek News Letter to the Editor were loud noise from the bar and profane language and rowdiness by patrons of the establishment. Additionally, Lall said that the bar would close beyond its scheduled hours and its overzealous patrons would thereafter gather at food bars in close proximity where music is played loudly accompanied by expletive laden language.
In an interview recently with the Sunday Stabroek, Surendra Dasai, the proprietor of Eclipse Bar who also resides at the same address, 24 Leonora Pasture, West Coast Demerara explained that renovations were undertaken earlier in the year and the bar was reopened on April 19th, 2024. Dasai said that part of the renovation included soundproofing of the bar with a double door and concluded that with that in place it was impossible for his bar to be the source of the noise nuisance that Lall complained about in his letter.
He added that Lall and him were once friends and he was a frequent customer of the bar before it was closed. Dasai said following the bar reopening, Lall started complaining about everything, even the patrons, he says he complained about. “I have a double door in my business and one day EPA came in and catch me playing loud music and they tested my place out. I didn’t turn down the music because the double door prevented the music from being heard outside, however, after 12 o’ clock I turned the base down.” He said there are instances of negligence by some DJs who would turn the music volume up, however, he would monitor the volume every 40 minutes and turn it down where necessary.
In addition, Dasai said the Environ-mental Protection Agency (EPA) agreed that there was no infringement of the law based on the reading from the decibel meter. Dasai said that this inspection by the EPA occurs every time the EPA is on the West Coast of Demerara. He added that sometimes he would send someone on the road to check to see if the music is loud. Dasai added that, “My music doesn’t affect anybody, she (Lall’s wife) is the one that complains. She and her husband started complaining about me all the time to the media, police all the time about somebody standing up in front them, somebody is too close to their fence, somebody going in the side street and looking; every single thing they record. They call the police and don’t even come.”
He added that the other neighbours do not complain about his music or the patrons. He said when the complaints were lodged at the police in relation to the patrons, the police told him the Cross Street that separated his business and home from his neighbour’s home, belongs to the government. He said that if something goes wrong on the road he tries to have his security stop it.
“I try to make sure when people leave, they are quiet. Sometimes when people leaving the bar as it is, they tend to get a little rowdy; not all of them.” He added that the bar opens around 4pm and closes by 2:30 (am) when he tries to lock the gate but who’s in, will stay in. Also, the bar opens from Wednesday to Sunday.
The operating of bars in areas with householders has become a chronic problem in all parts of the country.
Films
Dasai further relayed that patrons would usually tell him that Lall’s wife comes out of her home at nights and films them. He added, “She started calling the police on me and filming all the time. She didn’t had tape around the sand that is outside of her home… So, people will stand up by the sand and thing. She comes out of her home and film them and tell them that they can’t stand there and stuff. I tried to keep people off the sand. I am not into problems right now. I have too much investment into this business to get problems to get shut down. I put up urinal signs. People didn’t know that people live over there, so people walk out of the bar, across the road to urinate on the post. She was filming it until she started putting things with people all over the press and Facebook. That’s when I started hearing from people. She blocked me on Facebook. “
“They called housing Central Housing and Planning Authority [CHPA] on me. First, they said my licence does not cover a big bar but a small bar. I don’t know GRA give licence for a big or small bar,” he said
In relation to approval of the extension of his business, Dasai said he was late in submission of his bar’s extension plan but eventually the Stewartville/Cornelia Ida Neighbourhood Democratic Council [NDC] didn’t tell him anything of the extension. He added that the agencies empowered to give permission for the extension [of the bar] did give permission.
“I was late with my plan and because of that it caused some friction and stuff. I told the NDC because of the extension, look, I’m not breaching the boundaries for my extension. This is not the side of a house where somebody can complain that the extension is affecting them. This is in the front of the bar.
“Other business is like that so I told the NDC, if you want to tear me down, tear them down too. Nobody answered that.” He said he didn’t cross any boundaries and that he spent a lot of money on his place. He noted that it was the same Lall who reported him to the NDC and CHPA. Added to that, several days ago the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) visited and conducted an investigation into his business operations. The GRA, according to Dasai, did not find anything wrong with the bar.
Dasai said he started a small bar in December 2, 2017 and closed in September, 2023 for renovation and then reopened on April 19 this year. He said people love to come to his bar. Sometimes, he said the place is packed and he can’t stop people from coming in. “I can’t tell them get out off the street; you can’t stand up on the street. If there is a problem, there is the police. I try to maintain a little law and order here but you can only do so much. If you wait like three- or four-days’ time you are going to see that EPA on their official page using our bar as an example of how to be a soundproof establishment.”
Enlivens
Following the interview with Dasai, the Sunday Stabroek spoke to a few residents in the street and asked their perspectives about the bar. Devindra Kumar related that the bar enlivens the street but said that the music (from the bar) is not audible. Vishal Kumargit said that Dasai’s security would usually take care of any fight or unruly behaviour occurring in the street, adding that, Lall’s wife is the only person that complains about the bar. He too said that the bar is soundproof. Meanwhile, Marcia Navina who runs a food business not far from the bar added, “The bar brings in sales into my food business. If there are any arguments between patrons, the security of the bar takes care of it.”
In a previous interview with the Sunday Stabroek, the NDC Overseer, Savitri Gopaul stated that following a complaint by Lall earlier this year, the NDC undertook an investigation and found out that the bar was an enclosed structure which limited the noise escaping from the bar. However, fights and the use of inappropriate language were regular occurrences among patrons emerging from the bar between 02:00-03:00hrs the following morning. Gopaul said that this was where the police are needed to enforce the law. Gopaul added that the investigation revealed that the bar owner/s had breached of the building code. According to Gopaul, the NDC gave approval for the bar to operate within the residential area of Leonora about 8-9 years ago. Then, according to Gopaul, the permit was allowed as the structure for the bar was “small”. However, the investigation earlier this year found that the structure was extended beyond what was acceptable by law. Gopaul noted that no approval was given for the extension. Gopaul further relayed that the NDC wrote the CHPA on the matter and submitted copies to the GRA for the licence to be revoked.
Meanwhile, the NDC chairman, Sheik Samad told the Sunday Stabroek that he couldn’t recall exactly when the complaint was made by Lall but understood that the problem was not the bar per se but the patrons who congregated after its closing hours. Samad had told this newspaper that during the week whilst at a Region Three Regional Democratic Council meeting, he had made a report to the police about the very bar and in response, was assured him that regular patrols will be carried out to ensure that there was no disruption to the peace by patrons.
