No liquor shops on highways, near educational institutions, religious places: Yogi Adityanath

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. (File Photo)

Uttar Pradesh will soon have a new excise policy under which liquor shops will not be allowed along highways, near educational institutions, religious places and in densely populated areas. This was announced by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at the inaugural session of the BJP state executive meeting here. The announcement assumes significance as there have been a number of illicit liquor tragedies in the state in recent years.

“After the BJP came to power in UP, a number of liquor shops were attacked by mobs. We came to know that the previous government had renewed the licences of liquor shops till 2018 and allowed them to be shifted upto 500 metres from the national highways in hamlets and populated areas,” Adityanath said.

He said that under the new excise policy, the government will ensure that liquor shops are not allowed to operate along national or state highways, or in the vicinity of religious places and educational institutes.

Efforts will be made to ensure that liquor shops are not allowed to function within 500 metres of any hamlet, he said.