Chamoli villagers take to street to protest against opening of liquor shops

DEHRADUN: Scores of villagers of Deval block in Chamoli came out to protest against the opening of the liquor

shops

in the district on Thursday. They even courted arrest when the

police

removed them from the main market.


The incident took place around 10 am. A group of women and a few men from the near-by villages gathered outside a

liquor

shop in the market and demanded its immediate closure.

A protester, Ranjan Singh Bisht, said, “We have been demanding the closure of the liquor shops, but the district administration and the local police have not heeded our demand. We want the liquor shops to remain closed till the Covid-19 outbreak is over.”

Another protester, Asha Dhapula, said, “Police is saying that the liquor shops are open as per the state government’s directions. But no one is taking our objections seriously. The opening of liquor shops will mark the return of drunkards who create ruckus. We have been living peacefully during the lockdown, but if liquor shops open, our peaceful days will be over.”

The protesters were later taken to Tharali police station and were let off with a warning. A local policeman in Tharali, told TOI, “We removed the protesters from the site because they were blocking traffic. They were taken to the police station and let off subsequently.” Deval block has over 46 villages and has a population of 25,000. Recently, the state government had allowed liquor shops to function and they have been witnessing long queues ever since.