Shiv Sena seeks ban on liquor sale in J&K

The Jammu and Kashmir unit of Shiv Sena (UBT) on Friday held a protest demonstration and demanded complete ban on the sale of liquor in the Union Territory.

The protest comes in wake of MLAs from three political parties submitting private members’ Bills for enforcing alcohol ban across J&K ahead of the Assembly session scheduled from March 3.

Led by party’s UT chief Manish Sahni, demonstrators held placards against liquor sale and demanded immediate ban due to presence of many holy sites and educational institutions in the region. The placards read: “First step towards addiction is liquor shops” and “City of temples turned into a city of alcohol” among other slogans.

Sahni said that J&K is the land of sages and prophets. “There are world famous religious places like Mata Vaishno Devis, holy cave of Amarnath, Hazratbal Dargah, Gurdwara Kalgidhar Sahib and Tapo Asthan. Our religious faith is being hurt by the sale of liquor. On the other hand, Jammu, the City of Temples, has turned into a city of alcohol with liquor shops everywhere,” he said.

Sahni said liquor is being sold near religious places, schools and colleges and illegal collection of more than MRP is being done openly by these shops.

He further urged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to pass the Bill on liquor ban in the upcoming Assembly session and urged L-G Manoj Sinha to give consent to the Bill.