Pubs, restaurants and hotels located nearby highways to go dry: SC

Around 50 pubs, restaurants and hotels, located within 500 metres of highways in Delhi, will not be able to serve liquor from Saturday onwards.

Also, 65 vends will be sealed following the Supreme Court order that no liquor shops, pubs, hotels and bars serving alcohol will be permitted within 500 metres of highways in the country from April 1, government sources said.

A senior excise department official said several teams have been formed to ensure that outlets - pubs, restaurants and hotels - most of them on NH-8, stop serving liquor.

Some of the major restaurants and hotels located in Aerocity near the IGI Airport will be affected by the ruling. Officials said strict action will be taken against violators.

ALSO READ | Liquor ban on highway: SC relaxes distance from 500m to 220m for less populated areas

The SC has directed that no liquor shop shall be visible and directly accessible from the highways nor it should be situated within 500 metres of the outer edge of the national or state highway or of the service lane.

As per the top court’s order, licences of existing liquor shops on national and state highways will not be renewed after March 31.

The SC bench had expressed displeasure over the alleged inaction by various states in removing liquor shops along the roads which give rise to drunken driving and consequential fatalities.

In its order on December 15 last year, the SC had noted, “The expressways witnessed 4,208 accident cases, 4,229 injured and 1,802 deaths. Figures are also available of the distribution of road accidents by causes during 2014. 1.38 lakh persons were injured in road accidents involving dangerous or careless driving and 42,127 deaths occurred.”

ALSO READ | Highway liquor ban: Supreme Court to pronounce order on pleas against verdict today

“Injuries caused in accidents due to over-speeding stood at 1.81 lakh while there were 48,654 deaths. 7,307 accident cases involving driving under the influence of drugs/alcohol were registered resulting in 7,398 injuries and 2,591 deaths,” it had noted.