The Excise Department has directed the Kerala State Beverages Corporation (Bevco) to close down its newly opened Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) retail outlet at Madhumala in the wake of the strong public protest against it, according to the Excise Deputy Commissioner.
Local people have been waging vehement protests against the outlet which started functioning at a cement block-making unit at Madhumala a few days ago.
The villagers, majority of them women, have been staging an indefinite satyagraha demanding the closure of the outlet functioning in the vicinity of a temple and a Scheduled Caste colony.
They blocked a truck carrying liquor bottles to the outlet and staged a road blockade as part of the agitation.
The attempt to take the truck to the IMFL outlet with police escort too was foiled by the people. The situation turned tense with the villagers intensifying their agitation, forcing the government to close down the outlet, Excise Department sources said. The truck carrying liquor bottles too was taken back on Tuesday.
