Residents fighting the illegal commercialisation of Indiranagar have opposed the move to denotify stretches of national highways in the city to circumvent the Supreme Court ban on sale of liquor along highways.
Swarna Venkataraman, I Change Indiranagar, said that this is the only way they could curb the mushrooming of bars and pubs in their locality. “But so far, no establishment within 500 metres of Old Madras Road has faced any action,” she said.
Now that the Excise Department is carrying out an on-ground survey to assess the number of liquor vending establishments coming within the ambit of the SC ruling, officials should carry out a similar survey for zonal violations, she added.
“For instance, Karnataka Excise (Sale of Indian and Foreign Liquor) Rules, 1968 clearly state that no licence should be granted in predominantly residential areas. Indiranagar is a predominantly residential area (52%). Less than 10% of the locality is demarcated as commercial. How come there are so many bars and pubs in the area?” said a resident.
Karnataka Excise (Brewery) Rules also state that breweries need to have adequate parking space. However, none of those in Indiranagar have parking facilities. Their customers park vehicles in the by-lanes nearby inconveniencing people in the neighbourhood, residents complained.
