Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Liquor shops on the main roads and the narrow streets of the city have become a nightmare for vehicular traffic as well as pedestrians living in the neighbourhood. Main roads turn into an impassable mess, especially during the peak hours from 5 pm to 8 pm as it teems with people buying and consuming liquor from the shops.
For instance, liquor shops at Anand Bazar, Scheme no.78, Badwani Plaza, Bengali Square and other places which connect major routes of the city see long queues of customers who have become a nuisance for commuters.
As there is no proper parking space at the liquor shops, haphazardly parked vehicles on the roads and people roaming around choke the roads making it impossible for the other vehicles to pass through. It has also been a source of trouble for women and children as they cannot move freely around the area due to security issues like harassment, drunken brawls and accidents.
To get rid of this problem, locals have protested against opening of liquor shops at prime locations in the city, especially near residential areas, and demanded closure, or shifting, of liquor shops in those areas. However, no action has been taken so far by the authorities.
On the officials’ plan to counter the problem, additional DCP (Traffic) Anil Patidar said that quick response teams (QRTs) had been patrolling the areas near liquor shops and taking action against people breaking the law by slapping challans on them. He added that the issue had been raised at the Road Safety Committee meeting and they also informed IMC about it.
What people say
§ ‘There’s a heavy traffic jam on the road especially during peak hours due to haphazard parking by drunk drivers which is causing inconvenience to people like us who need to reach in time,’ says Kapil Sharma, a passerby
§ ‘The wine shop gets heavily crowded by drunkards who even drink liquor on the road, leaving no space either for vehicles or pedestrians,’ says Kirti Gadwal, a pedestrian who often uses that route
§ ‘Crowds of shoppers at wine shops make the situation really bad for traffic—mostly on the weekends. The vehicles are parked on the road, leading to narrowing of the space,’ says Harsh, a local resident
