Palam Vihar residents protest liquor shop near war memorial

GURGAON: Residents of Palam Vihar have written to the district authorities to remove a liquor vend that is situated near the Rezang La War Memorial in the city, saying people drink liquor there and litter the area at night.
The memorial was set up more than two yeas ago in honour of 113 soldiers and a major of the Kumaon Regiment who sacrificed their lives during the India-China War of 1962.
Residents claimed that despite submitting several written complaints to the authorities, no action has been taken yet.
Brigadier (retd) D N Yadav, a resident, said, “The liquor shop is adjoining a hospital, and is located fewer than 50 metres from the school and 15 metres from the war memorial.”
The residents said that once dusk sets in, some regular drinkers buy liquor and sit on benches inside the war memorial complex.
This is disrespectful to our martyrs In the morning, we get to see liquor bottles and packets of snacks littered around in the complex. On a couple of occasions, the memorial’s security guard was beaten up when he tried to intercept a few men who were forcing their way into the memorial to drink,” said Kumar.
When TOI spoke to Aruna Singh, deputy excise and taxation commissioner, she said, “There is no violation as the excise policy permits the liquor shop to run near a hospital. About its proximity to schools, special permission can be given to open a shop within 150 metres from the school’s location. In this case, there is no violation as our team had carried out an inspection.”
Singh added, “Most liquor shops face opposition from people in the surroundings. But we must understand that the liquor business brings revenue amounting to thousands of crores to the state of Haryana.”