As many as 40 liquor shops within 500 metres of the National Highways and the State Highways in Sundargarh district will be sealed from April 1 by the Sundargarh Excise Department as per the direction of the Supreme Court and order of the State Government.
The shops which to be closed can apply for reopening in separate locations.
The Supreme Court on December 15, 2016 had ordered a ban on sale of liquor in liquor shops, located within 500 meters from the highways and had directed that the liquor shops should be shifted and their licences could not be renewed after March 31, 2017. The decision was taken to reduce drunken driving and road accidents that claim thousands of lives every year.
The Odisha Government had decided to relocate liquor shops within 500 metres of the NHs and SHs by April 1. A decision in this regard had been taken in January in a high-level meeting presided over by Chief Secretary AP Padhi. The Chief Secretary had directed the Excise and Works departments to work together for identifying the liquor shops which are operating within 500 metres of the highways and complete the process in 15 days to one month. As per the direction, the Excise Superintendent of Sundargarh district along with the Works Department had started to identify liquor shops operating within 500 meters of the highways in Sundargarh district and accordingly 40 liquor shops, comprising country and foreign liquor, were identified and those shops will be sealed from April 1.
Meanwhile, according to sources, out of 40 liquor shops which will be sealed from April 1, eight have applied to open their shops in different locations. “We have already issued letter to all the forty liquor shops within 500 metres of highways informing them about the sealing of the shops from April 1, 2017,” said Excise Superint-endent Sundargarh RC Behera.