PONDA: A meeting of the Ponda taluka committee on Supreme Court liquor ban was held on Tuesday. The meeting was headed by Ponda Mamlatdar John Fernandes.
The committee will carry out site inspections of bars and liquor shops located within 500 metres of State and National Highway which are required to be closed as per SC directive.
After the meeting, Mamlatdar Fernandes said that as per Excise department information there are 291 bars in Ponda taluka near state and National Highway. However, he said, the exact number of bars and liquor shops that are within 500 meters of National and State Highway will be known only after land mapping which will be held from February 15, by a team of government officials and land surveyors. The report of land mapping will be submitted to the government on February 28.
Ponda Excise Inspector Amol Harwalkar said that there are 790 bars in Ponda taluka and of which 280 bars are likely to be affected by the SC order prohibiting renewal of license. “The figure may rise after actual survey and that two to three big hotels may also be affected. We are mapping it under the guidance of mamlatdar and govt officials and will know exact figure after land survey is concluded on February 28,” he added.
