Bengaluru: The Supreme Court order banning alcohol sale along highways has forced owners to shut down liquor stores, pubs and bars across India, but it’s business as usual in Karnataka, where the order is yet to be implemented.
According to the Karnataka Excise Department, there are over 6,000 bars and liquors stores in the state that generate Rs 7,000 crore annually.
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The Supreme Court had in the order said that liquor vends within 500 metres of national and state highways will have to shut down from April 1. It had reduced the distance from 500 metres to 220 metres in municipal areas having the population less than 20,000.
“I own this shop for 12 years. If I close it, where will I go? I have no skills to survive. I am the only bread winner in the family. It is going to be very difficult for me. No one has told me to close the shop yet. If the police approach me, only then will I shut shop," said Murthy, who owns a liquor store on National Highway-4, the Bengaluru–Pune highway.
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Chanappa, the worker in a liquor shop on NH-4, said, "Our licence is valid till September. I don’t think the owner will close it till then. I will be left with no job if the shop closes. I have been working here for two years. I don’t know where to go after this."Also Read: Hundreds of Liquor, Illegal Meat Shops Shut in Jharkhand
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