Liquor shops along ECR stay open despite SC order

Puducherry: Five days after the Supreme Court order compelling all liquor shops and bars within 500 metres of national and state highways to stop selling alcohol in an attempt to curb drunk driving, liquor shops along the East Coast Road (ECR) functioned normally on Thursday.

Though  Puducherry government closed around 163 liquor shops situated along the highways following the apex court order, shops situated along the ECR  were exempted from the ruling stating that ECR  does not fall under the category of state highway. There are around 530 liquor shops in the Union Territory. Among this, around 188 liquor shops including 105 in Puducherry, 43 in Karaikal, 34 in Mahe and 6 in Yanam regions, are located along the national highways. A majority of the shops are located on Cuddalore Road, Villupuram Road, Tindivanam Road and the East Coast Road.  "Government had initially decided to close all these 188 shops including those along ECR.

As ECR  passing through the city from Rajiv Gandhi Square to Karuvadikuppam is not classified as state highway by the government so far, we decided to keep the shops open," said a top government official. "We did not receive any official communication to close the shops so far," said a liquor shop owner.