There is bad news for tipplers as the Election Commission of India has decided that all the neighbouring districts of Delhi should enforce blanket ban on the sale of liquor 48 hours before the polling procedure begins in the Capital.
The step has been initiated to checkmate the circulation of liquor in slums and JJ clusters here. Sale of liquor is said to be banned for two days before the Assembly elections as there were apprehensions that candidates may procure liquor from neighbouring districts to influence the voters. The Excise Department of Delhi has also issued a circular that no hotels, restaurants or other eating joints are allowed to serve liquor here during the same period. The Excise Department, in its notification, has declared liquor be banned from 5 pm on December 2 to 5 pm on December 4 (which is the polling day) and on December 8 (counting day).
The EC has asked the district authorities and Excise Departments of Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Baghpat, Ballabhgarh, Gurgaon and Faridabad to ensure no wine shops, with licence from the Excise Department, to open their premises from December 2. Around 1,500 outlets, located in malls, five-star hotels and restaurants fall in these regions.
Confirming the order, officials of the Gautam Buddh Nagar’s Excise Department said wine outlets of the district would stay shut till the closing of polls in Delhi on December 4. The outlets will reopen at 5 pm. Shops and outlets found violating the orders would be fined between `5,000 and `20,000. “The onus of ensuring prohibition orders on sale of liquor would rest upon the Excise Department and police. liquor shops in Noida will be shut down from the evening of December 2 until 48 hours. The orders have been passed by the EC to stop the sale of liquor on the day of Delhi Assembly polls,” said Kuldeep Yadav, Assistant Commissioner (Excise) of Gautam Buddh Nagar.