UP Excise and Prohibition Minister Nitin Agarwal said the government has established a ‘no liquor zone’ in the entire 84-Kosi Parikrama circuit and the wine shops in the prohibited area will be either shifted or removed.

The development came after the Excise Minister met with Champat Rai, General Secretary of Ayodhya Ram Mandir Trust. Agarwal stressed that instructions for this action have already been issued.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also scheduled to visit Ayodhya to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for multiple development projects worth more than ₹11,100 crore to revamp civic facilities and develop world-class infrastructure in the holy city on December 30.

Agarwal said, “It was our decision as per the instructions by the Chief Minister that we prohibit liquor sale on the 84 Kosi Parikrama Marg. We have shifted the shops allotted there and we have completely prohibitted liquor sale on that Marg. It’s a 150-175 km long road so we have shifted all the shops to other places.”

The minister further clarified that the ban on the sale of liquor is only limited to the 84 Kosi Parikrama of the Ram Temple and does not apply to the remaining metropolis of Ayodhya.

There are more than 500 liquor shops within the 84 Kosi Parikrama area and all the shops are closed after the order.  

It is important to note that in June 2022, the UP government banned the sale of liquor in and around temples in Ayodhya and Mathura. The authorities cancelled the licenses of booze vendors in Ayodhya. In Mathura, the administration ordered the closure of thirty-seven liquor, beer, and bhang stores located near temples. The three pubs located in the hotels were closed.

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Published: 28 Dec 2023, 10:37 PM IST