Post-Sambasiva Rao crackdown: Nedumbassery airport lounge bar licence scrapped

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government has cancelled an FL-7 bar licence granted at Nedumbassery airport when Sriram Sambasiva Rao was the Excise Commissioner. The approval granted for the licence has also been revoked.

The licence and approval for the Air Lounge Bar operating on the second floor of Terminal 3 at Nedumbassery airport have been cancelled. The government order states that the applicant will be refunded the Rs 2 lakh paid while applying for the licence. The applicant only needs to submit a separate application to receive the refund. The order was issued by R. Jayashankar, Additional Excise Commissioner, who is holding charge of the Excise Commissioner.

The decision follows the government's directive that no new bar licences, including FL-7 licences, should be issued until the new government's liquor policy is announced. The applicant will have to apply afresh after the UDF government's liquor policy comes into effect, the order states.