Hindus Protest Liquor Shop near Temple

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Now, Palsora women say `no' to liquor shop

LIQUOR VENDS: Sec-15, Manimajra plan protests

Express News Service

"Tension over vends is also brewing in Manimajra, where the residents

have opposed the liquor shop and ahata coming up near the Shiv Mandir,

Khera Mandir, a primary school and Girls' Vedic School."

 

Chandigarh, March 28: ``LIQUOR will ruin the villagers,'' shouted

Mohinder Kaur, the sarpanch of Palsora village, who, along with over

150 women from the village, held a demonstration against vends in

front of the Panchayat Health Centre on Tuesday.

 

Joining the growing protests against liquor vends coming up across the

UT from April 1, this village on the outskirts of the city warned of

more demonstrations if the proposed shop in the Panchayat Health

Centre is not shifted ``far away from our homes,'' said the

55-year-old sarpanch.

 

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``Our houses are just across this 15-foot lane from the health centre

and the Vishwakarma temple is only 50 feet away. How can they open a

liquor shop here?'' asked Balwinder Kaur, a villager.

 

Meanwhile, in the Sector 15-C market, shopkeepers assembled in front

of the proposed liquor shop at SCF 4 and decided to keep their shops

closed on Thursday and also stage demonstrations on the road along

with residents of the sector.

 

Tension over vends is also brewing in Manimajra, where the residents

have opposed the liquor shop and ahata coming up near the Shiv Mandir,

Khera Mandir, a primary school and Girls' Vedic School.

 

``We will never allow the liquor shop to be opened so close to our

sacred sites. The Administration must relocate it,'' said Wilaiti Ram,

member of the Vedic Putri Pathshala Executive Committee and president

of the Manimajra Mahajan Sabha.

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=175681

 

Unholy cocktail: Anger brews, more protests

Anand S.T. Das

 

Chandigarh, March 29: WITH April 1 drawing near, when the UT

Administration's new Excise Policy comes into effect, the public

disquiet over the location of new liquor shops is getting more intense.

 

Women and the elderly have been the most vociferous opponents of the

proposed locations of the vends. Questions are being raised about the

``propriety and wisdom'' of the Excise Policy that says vends would be

located ``at a reasonable distance of 50 metres from places of

worship, public entertainment, education institution''. ``The 50-metre

distance is too less,'' fumes Lala Wilaiti Ram (90), president of

Manimajra Mahajan Sabha and member of the Vedic Putri Pathshala

Executive Committee.

 

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Wednesday saw a number of demonstrations and meetings. While residents

of Palsora village, Manimajra and Atawa shouted anti-Administration

slogans, meetings were held in Sectors 15, 37 and Burail to discuss

protest strategies. Residents and shopkeepers here said they would

hold more demonstrations, block roads and keep shops closed tomorrow.

 

``Why didn't the Administration seek the panchayat's opinion?'' asked

Supinder Singh, panch of Palsora during a demonstration attended by

over 100 women.

 

Writ in HC

THE Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday admitted a writ

petition filed by 17 residents of Sector 15 seeking directive to the

UT Administration not to permit the contractor to open shop at SCF-4

in the Sector 15-C market. The case is listed for hearing in the court

of Chief Justice D K Jain and Justice Surya Kant on Thursday morning.

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=175825