Good karma or bad? Man behind liquor ban can’t find liquor nearby

Harman Sidhu, the man behind Supreme Court’s ban on sale of liquor within 500 meters of the highways in the country, might have tasted victory but apparently he is not really happy with it.

Despite the Apex Court delivering the judgement in favour of Sidhu, who is an activist from Chandigarh, the victory came at a personal loss; at least that’s what Sidhu, who himself enjoys drinking, feels since the ban has resulted in a majority of Chandigarh pubs, bars and restaurants going dry.

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The reason, Sidhu says is a goof-up on the part of Chandigarh authorities.

"Highways are supposed to be outside cities and to be used only for long drives," he explains. "But thanks to the Chandigarh authorities' goof-up, there are many highways within Chandigarh. This could well have been a world record of sorts. Now everybody, including me, will have to suffer," Sidhu told TNN.

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By highways being within Chandigarh, he hints at the many thoroughfares that the city’s municipal corporation had declared as state highways in 2006. The reason, he says, was that the corporation didn’t have the resources to maintain these stretches, and declaring them highways would simply put the responsibilities on central government.

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However, just before the Supreme Court banned the sale of liquor around highways, the authorities changed the nomenclature of these roads to major district roads, with the Punjab and Haryana high court accepting the change. However, Sidhu himself has challenged the denotification in the Supreme Court; the case would be heard on April 17 now.

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However, this personal loss has not shaken Sidhu’s beliefs against people being allowed to drink and drive.

(Image source: IndiaTimes)