Team Herald
PONDA: The wholesale and retail liquor vendors in Ponda taluka have appealed to local MLA Ravi Naik to press for de-notification of the highway to save their business.
This appeal was made during a meeting they had with Naik in Sungrace Hotel in the town, on Tuesday.
The vendors demanded that highways passing through municipal and panchayat jurisdictions be notified as district roads by way of an ordinance. “This will help at least 55 vendors in Ponda,” said a vendor.
Presently, 400 shops are facing the threat of closure as they are within 500 metres from national highways.
Agreeing that it is traditional business of Goans to make liquor from coconut and cashew, Naik said that he would request the chief minister to bring an amendment Bill or Ordinance to de-notify the highways, as “it is the urgent need of hour to save liquor outlets.”
He said that due to closure of liquor outlets, the government would also lose revenue and that thousands of people would lose their livelihood and jobs.
Slamming the government for its lackadaisical attitude to the issue, Naik said that the government should make efforts to save the affected liquor outlets by bringing in a Bill to de-notify the highways. If the government brings in a Bill to save this business, the Congress MLAs will support it in the Assembly,” he said.
