Khemuana residents want liquor vend to be shifted

Nikhila Pant Dhawan

Advertisement

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, April 9

Residents of Khemuana village on Monday approached the district administration demanding the shifting of a liquor vend, located inside the village, to the village outskirts. A delegation of villagers, supported by members of the Naujawan Bharat Sabha, on Monday reached the District Administrative Complex to submit their appeal.

Sukhbir Singh and Chhinda Singh said at present, the liquor vend was located adjacent to the village bus stand and hence, was causing a law and order problem for villagers and commuters alike.

They alleged that even after bringing the problem to the attention of the liquor vend contractor and local police personnel, no efforts were made to shift the liquor vend. “The presence of the liquor vend in a residential area is not safe for commuters, especially women and children. We had brought it to the police’s attention as well but to no avail,” they said.

The villagers said to shift the vend, panchayat members, members of various organisations and unions active in the village had passed a resolution demanding that the vend be shifted out of the village.

“We have been staging a protest in front of the vend for a week now but in vain. On the one hand, the state government has constituted teams and special cells to control drug addiction in the state, but on the other liquor vends have been functioning in densely populated areas,” they said.

They appealed to the Deputy Commissioner to direct the department concerned to get the vend shifted at least a kilometre away from the limits of the village and make sure that the rules and regulations were followed while shifting and opening a vend at a new location.

Jaspreet Kaur, Jasveer Kaur, Balvir Singh, BKU Ugrahan leaders Harjit Singh, Amandeep Singh, Naujawan Bharat Sabha members Mahinderpreet, Arshdeep, Sarpanch Rajidnerpal Singh, panchayat members Gurjant Singh and Jalaur Singh were part of the delegation.