Licences of all 8 liquor outlets in Surla suspended

NT NETWORK

PANAJI

The commissioner of excise on Friday suspended the licences of all eight bars and liquor shops operating from Surla village in Sattari taluka.

On August 16, 2018, the Dongurli Thane panchayat had revoked the no-objection certificate (NOC) of six bars and two liquor shops in Surla village, as residents had decided to make the village liquor-free.

Meanwhile, Surla bar owners, who had moved the director of panchayats for setting aside of the revocation order of NOCs to their establishments, have a hearing with the directorate on September 24. The petition of bar owners with the High Court of Bombay at Goa is due for hearing on September 25.

Besides the revocation of NOCs by the local panchayat, bars and liquor shops in Surla village are also shut for business, as there is a closure order issued by the North Goa District Magistrate for drinking and serving alcohol. The closure order is in operation until September 19, 2018.

Drunk visitors from the neighbouring state of Karnataka and tourists along the Belagavi-Goa highway is a festering issue in Surla village. Being fed up of the menace, residents started

an agitation in July and came on the street in protest. They resolved to make the village liquor-free and said that the six bars and two liquor outlets would be closed permanently for business. Subsequently, the local panchayat revoked the NOCs given to the eight outlets.

Surla residents have said that they will take dire steps if bars and liquor shops are allowed to reopen in the village.