Come April 2017, no more Liquor shops on the highway!

[Chrome6Boy]

Originally Posted by vinair

A very welcome move indeed - http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/no-li...-lateststories

In my honest opinion, not just liquor shops, but all types of shops should be kept at least 500 meters away from either sides of the road!

All shops?

What about garages or tire repair shops? Imagine having to roll a tire 500 metres in to some unknown area with our family sitting in the vehicle.

Restaurants (especially with toilets) add a lot of convenience on the highway especially the ones which have a proper entrance for vehicles with their own parking.

Not all shops can afford 500 metres as land prices are expensive near the highway.

[drmohitg]

Another case of good intention but total helplessness when it comes to enforcing the same as the cops would be on the payroll of most of these shops. Even in a relatively well policed city/state like Vadodara/Gujarat, where liquor is banned for sale unless you have a permit, one can very easily buy it via multiple vendors who provide you doorstep service. I do not see how they will enforce it on the highways. Lets hope they can.

[ecenandu]

What is the rationale behind the ban.

Is it to curb drunk driving or to reduce the accidents caused by drunkards near the road.

[blackasta]

Problem is in densely populated areas of Bengal, NH/SH often wind through populated areas of city/town, which have had liquor store since decades. The liquor stores were wilfully set up away from schools etc on the edge of the population near highways. Now if one forbids that, where do the liquor stores go? they cannot come into populated areas for being near schools/temples etc.

Also - I think that a minuscule percentage of people actually buy from a highway store, open the cap and drink while they drive. Most drunk driving cases are where a person has drunk too much while seated in house/restaurant/bar and then proceeds to drive. How to stop that? I may be wrong in my assumption though.

IMO it would have been better if on premises sale was banned with off premises sale being continued. Why punish the store owners for what motorists do in their cars?

[Samurai]

Is it just liquor shops or even bar/pubs along the national/state highways? Lot of restaurants serve liquor too, what about them?

In smaller towns, every restaurant/bar/pub/liquor-shop is located on either national or state highways. This has huge impact on state revenues too, which highly benefit from liquor sale. The annual liquor license renewal official price in KA is around 6-7L on average, over that big bribe has to be paid. Then there is the revenue from liquor sale.

[landcruiser123]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Wonder what will happen to states like Kerala where the highways runs through towns and cities :P

I hope there isn't a clause providing exception to liquor shops in towns.

Why talk about Kerala when we have our own Kanakapura road in Bangalore?

Welcome move and i would vote to keep a ban on any type of commercial and residential activities having direct access to highways.

Defined by access-control. Indian highways have no access control. So, one can use his TVS 50 to get to the across the Highway to reach the farm from his house.

Only Expressways in India have some sort of access control- I've traveled on BETL, never on Mumbai-Pune expressway.

[sudeepg]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Wonder what will happen to states like Kerala where the highways runs through towns and cities :P

Welcome move and i would vote to keep a ban on any type of commercial and residential activities having direct access to highways. Yes it will be inconvenient but will save alot of lives and allow faster commute times on highways.

This is one of the only reasons why commuting by road in Kerala (especially north Kerala) is extremely time consuming affair. I support keeping business establishments off the highways and also this supreme court order. The only advantage of current arrangement is that you could pull over any moment if you felt like having a cup of tea or some snacks

[Argan365]

Fantastic Welcome order from the SC. I do think though that a lot of the locals will always find a jugaad somewhere to bypass the order. I hope the number of drunk people getting hit and run over might also reduce as a result. Specially in some of the smaller towns this is a big problem.

[dass]

While this is a good move to make the highways a little more safe, I think this isn't enough. I have seen on numerous highways, people standing on the roads with bottles over their head and hand to be sold to drivers who want to buy them. You can ban the liquor shops from the highways, how will you ban the liquor from the highway?

[binand]

Originally Posted by King_pin09

So disallowing the “Drinks” at such dhabas mean one is depriving the drivers of their basic right.

There is a "basic right" to consume alcohol?

[Turbo Head]

AFAIK this ruling was implemented (maybe respective state High courts/Govts.) long time back, atleast in most states of northern India.

There use to be a liquor shop after every few kms on NH1, NH8 and all major highways till few years back. Infact in Punjab, vendors use to sell it from standby vehicles (e.g. Jeeps, Vans etc.). However since 2015 (approx.), its completely wiped out, Not only from NH1 but from all major highways.

Now if one has to buy, he has to take a detour from the highway, buy it and come back on highway. Though it might be deterrent for casual drinker (who won't bother to take the pain), hardcore drunkards will find their way to wineshops, even if it means taking a 5-10 mins detour.

[iFuel]

Originally Posted by binand

There is a "basic right" to consume alcohol?

Genius is always understated. I guess you and I were not aware of this basic right. I think I should ponder upon this opportunity to exercise my rights more often, most importantly this basic right to consume alcohol.

Don't mind me, this sure made me chuckle and was a nice fun post in a busy day.

On a serious note, this is a brilliant move. I do see that most of the liquor shops have already vanished on the highways I travel these days. Maybe that was a state driven ruling. This should help drive it even better.

[amit_snk]

Up north, its going to hit Himachal Pradesh hard. A weekend drive from Chandigarh to Shimla has 2 things for certain, traffic jams and wine shops, at every corner. And these wine shops are open till, you doze off. What are young Chandigarians going to do?

[Ajay_the_Don]

The govt has to realize that almost all alcohol during highway drive, is not bought at a retail outlet on the highway. People will be living their life no matter what. A more effective method would be, to test drivers at the toll to keep it in check.

[Thilak29]

Wow! Wonder who rules this land, SC or Gov? Anyways another blister from SC after tint ban.
Small town Mahe (sandwiched in Kerala) will be no man's land with this rule!
That being UT, Fuel bunk and Liquor shops are alternatively placed.