The opening of a liquor shop near a school in the Srinagar outskirts of Shiv Pora locality triggered a protest on Wednesday with many, including some Kashmiri Pandits residing in the vicinity calling for its closure.
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Locals from the Shivpora locality that falls under the jurisdiction of Badamibagh Cantonment Board staged a protest demanding the closure of the liquor shop as soon as possible.
Some Kashmiri Pandits who reside in the locality were also part of the protest.
One of the protesters who identified himself as Raviji Razdan told the news agency Kashmir News Trust that setting up a liquor shop close to a school will badly impact the students. He said authorities should shift this liquor shop to any other place keeping the apprehensions f the locals in view.
“The new liquor shop has been set up near a school. Please tell me, how students will learn when there is a liquor shop on one side and a cinema on the other,” Mr. Razdan said.
He said there are many schools in the locality. “Law itself prohibits anybody from setting up a liquor shop close to a school, religious place or in a residential area. Our mothers and sisters won’t feel secure in presence of this liquor shop,” he added.
One of the protesters termed the opening of a wine shop, close to a school, as “preposterous and mischievous”.
Pertinently, Manoj-Sinha led administration after nearly three decades granted license to open liquor shops at various locations across the Kashmir valley.
The Excise Department, in 2020, identified 183 new locations, 116 in Jammu and 67 in the Kashmir valley for sale of liquor.
The Jammu Kashmir administration also authorized departmental stores to sell beer and other ready-to-drink beverages in urban areas with “the objective to bring a transition among booze drinkers from high content alcohol to low content harmless drinks.” With inputs from KNT