Drinking in the open goes on in city

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, October 15

The city police seem to have failed in checking drinking at public places.

In the evening, one can notice boozers consuming liquor in their vehicles on the road opposite Three Cinemas on the Goniana road, Bibiwala road, railway station, bus stand, 100-ft road and fish market among other places in the city.

The police have installed banners at various points in the city stating that consuming liquor in cars is illegal but nothing else has been done to stop this practice.

Punjab Hotels and Restaurants Association president Satish Arora said the culture of drinking in cars was affecting their business.

People drink sitting in their cars, which is illegal, but this trend is increasing as the police are not acting against it, he said.

He added that the police acted only after they lodged complaints but things often turn to what they were after a few days.

Amritpal Singh, a city resident, said things go out of control when people indulged into brawls after having drinks.

“The problem is more outside food joints that serve non-vegetarian items. Apart from food, they also provide soda and water to the customers in their vehicles,” said Jatinder Singh, a city resident.

Residents said despite deployment of the police and continuous patrolling by PCR vehicles, there was no check on people consuming liquor in the open.

Even restaurant and bar owners have also complained against this stating that they paid huge amount as excise fee but this dine and wine in car culture is increasing.

‘Car-o-bar’ has become a trend among people, which is done mostly outside liquor vends or an eating joint.