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Protest erupts in Haldwani against new liquor policy
Congress members held a protest at Buddha Park here on Wednesday against the new excise policy that “favours big players”
Congress members held a protest at Buddha Park here on Wednesday against the new excise policy that “favours big players”.
The new policy for FL 5 liquor that would be sold from malls and departmental stores benefits only big operators, said Mandi Parishad chairman Sumit Hridyesh, who led the protest.
The government has set a target of selling non-alcohol goods worth ₹5 crore a year to get eligible to open a liquor shops in a mall, Hridyesh said, adding that it was not possible for a small liquor operator.
The policy is to create monopoly of big liquor operators and syndicates, said Hridyesh.
Congress leaders urged the government to change the liquor policy so that small operators get a level playing field and unemployed youth, who are employed in this trade, are not devoid of their livelihood.
Congress Haldwani city unit president Rahul Chhimwal said the government wants to promote monopoly of the big cartels in the liquor trade.
It is condemnable that a new clause was added in the policy and “unjustified as license holders in Uttarakhand cannot have that high turnover and that too in the non-alcohol segment”, he said.
Chhimwal said his party would be raising the issue on various forums and press upon the chief minister to change the liquor policy so that it does not tend to create monopoly of the big operators.
