Navalkar confirmed he met the delegation and said he is ``not a competent authority to decide on the ban. I will have to talk about the issue to the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister. But I assured the delegation that all irregularities in the running of pool parlours will be done away with,'' he told Express Newsline. Navalkar listed three areas where action will be taken immediately, viz, pool parlours where liquor is served illegally, where one can indulge in gambling and parlours being run in residential flats.

He said he has already spoken to theJoint Commissioner of Police, law and order, P S Pasricha, BMC commissioner Girish Gokhale and collector Sanjay Chahande in this regard.

Pasricha said he had not decided anything yet but would look into the matter soon. Gokhale clarified that use of a residential place for commercial purposes was not permissible, and all those pool parlours being run in residential places would be served notices in a week's time under the MRTP Act.

Navalkar, on his part, added: ``I have, in fact, asked the delegation not to leave everything to the government. I have suggested that they meet the owners of the parlours and ask them to stop serving liquor. A lot of young students have taken to liquor and are frequenting discos and pool clubs serving liquor. One does wish to enjoy when one is young and I am not against it. But when one starts drinking (liquor) it becomes difficult to curb the habit.''

The delegation led by the chief organiser of BVS Atul Sarpotdar, son of Sena Member of Parliament Madhukar Sarpotdar, hasgiven the government an alternative, though. ``If not a ban, we expect the government to impose certain rules and guidelines on the parlours, especially on the hours they should be allowed to operate in,'' he said. The BVS has demanded that pool parlours not be kept open during college hours. Its chief concern is that the parlours can have a harmful impact on youngsters. ``The parlours look very harmless, but very often that is not the case. A lot of them do encourage gambling and serve liquor. Many even employ attractive young girls to teach the game. This leads to several improper acts. Besides, it is causing great harm to the careers of a lot of young students,'' said Sarpotdar.

He said that before demanding a ban, some Shiv Sena vibhag pramukhs had conducted a search of erring parlours. He could not, however, name any.

The demand, if complied with, is sure to strike a sour note again between the state government and the city's fun-loving people. ``It is a shame (to demand a ban on poolparlours) because it is very important that young people have options for good, clean fun. If one doesn't wish to study, one would sit in front of the TV set. How right is it to deny anyone his/her right to enjoy?'' asked A D Singh, the owner of a central Mumbai pool parlour called Galaxy Bowling.