MARGAO: Liquor vendors from Margao have called for a Margao bandh on Monday demanding that the government properly notify the highway in the town and till then no liquor vendor should be harassed in any manner.
As the Supreme Court order banning sale of alcohol along highways came into force today, earlier in the day it appeared that there was no ban on sale of alcohol as most liquor vendors carried on business as usual although business was slack as people did not come out to purchase alcohol due to the prohibition.
While all bars and restaurants were in business as normal selling alcohol as apertisers or accompaniments to the snacks and food that was served. However, some had sought to camouflage the glasses with a paper napkin to hide the colour of the drink in the glass.
“We have not been served any order directing us to stop the sale of alcohol and hence there is no reason why we cannot sell alcohol to our customers,” said the owner of one very popular age old bar and restaurant in Margao.
A well known Chinese restaurant was serving alcoholic drinks to its customers and when questioned the staff informed that the owners had not told them anything about prohibition in sale of alcohol. Same was the situation at a relatively new high end restaurant in the heart of the city where business was normal.
However, the bars were carrying out business in a clandestine manner with their shutters half down and the windows and doors closed. Customers had to stand in a queue, take their drink, gulp it down and leave the spot.
For wholesalers it was mixed business as those selling in wholesale carried on their business but with half shutters and other doors closed where stock was sole only in bulk. They justified the sale on grounds that the Supreme Court had given them time to dispose off their stock.
Those having wholesale license did not sell any stock in retail and hence those wanting to purchase a few bottles of beer were hard hit as only cartoons were being sold. Most liquor vendors having retail business license had downed their shutters and did not carry out any business today.
However trouble broke out in the afternoon as an Excise official along with four guards arrived at a bar near Pandava Chapel at Aquem and asked him to shut down. However, the bar owner refused to down the shutters and demanded that the Excise department first issue him a notice.
As excise officials were visiting different bars closing them down, owners were already incensed and they gathered at Aquem and challenged the Excise official who insisted that there was no need to issue any notice as they were merely implementing the Supreme Court order.
But noticing that the bar owners were getting agitated the official along with the guards went away but the liquor vendors at an impromptu meeting decided to organize a Margao bandh on Monday and also decided to ask the government to denotify the highways passing through Margao town as no highways can pass through a municipal area.
The Excise Officials who had come to the bar while speaking to media said “The bars have to close the operations from today as per the Supreme Court order. As far as notices are concerned we are not bound to serve them as the licenses are not renewed and they get invalid from today” said Excise Inspector Shamba Naik.
