Chandigarh News: Bouncers on roll after Mumbai attacks

The Mumbai mayhem is raining jobs for bouncers in hotels across Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and Chandigarh. Anxious hoteliers, still numb from the attack on some of India's oldest and most iconic hotels in its commercial capital, are in fact also looking for hiring female bouncers so that they can tackle women guests.

Busy recruiting bouncers, Ruby Singh of RS Group here said, "To meet the requirement of Chandigarh alone I have to hire out around 150 boys. Then there is the new demand for female bouncers, particularly in discs, to check lady guests. We will recruit one lady bouncer each for local discotheques." He added that with Christmas and New Year round the corner, demand for private security has increased tenfold in the region.

Surjit Singh, who owns Chandigarh-based Solid Manpower, is upbeat too. The demand for security agents who possess licensee weapons is especially higher, he said, adding, "Hoteliers have asked up to provide two gunmen each in their clubs and bars etc. Keep this in mind many boys from my security company have applied for weapons. Such is the demand that we would, I think, be engaging around 250 bouncers."

Luckily for hotels and clubs here, there is a ready pool of bouncers who are plucked off straight from the akharas of Haryana and Punjab. While many are wrestlers, some are bodybuilders and boxers having officially represented the two states in numerous national-level competitions. Informing TOI about holding a meeting to discuss security status in the city with leading hoteliers and restaurateurs on Monday, Manmohan Singh Kohli, president, Chandigarh hotel and restaurant owners' association, added, "It was a collective decision to approach UT administration for a task force that can also train private security personnel employed by us. As it will be a while until this demand is met, smaller hotels and restaurants have already started hiring private guards."

The scenario is no different in touristy Shimla. Though not ready to reveal details, Vikas Kapoor, GM, Radisson, said security has been beefed up like never before. "We have increased the number of our security guards. The hospitality sector has become a soft target for terrorists and to avoid Taj-like incidents we have been forced to upgrade security arrangements and make guests feel safe."

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