Beach Shacks Serving Liquor On Puri Beach Plan Scuttled As Odisha Govt Bows To Protests

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Friday withdrew the proposal to set up beach shacks, serving liquor, on Puri beach for promotion of tourism in the state.

“It is hereby notified that no license shall be granted to operate beach shacks in the jurisdiction of Puri Municipality and within 5 kms of any other places of socio-religious-cultural significance,” the Excise Department notification said. 

The socio-religious-cultural significance will be decided by the state government from time to time, it added.

This came a couple of days after Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati opposed the move and various organisations held protest rallies in front of the 12th century Shree Jagannath temple. They also submitted a memorandum to the chief minister through Puri Collector Sidhartha Shankar Swain, demanding immediate withdrawal of the government proposal to construct shacks along the beach.

“Puri is a holy place. It’s known for its spiritualy. Setting up beach shacks will be a disgrace to its spiritual sanctity. It will bring a bad name to Jagannath culture. We do Bhajan, Kirtan, and evening aarti on the seashore. We need not to pollute this atmosphere,” the Puri seer had said after Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) invited bids to set up beach shacks along the coastline, initially from Puri to Konark to promote beach tourism.

The new Excise policy unveiled on August 30 had allowed for serving of liquor at beach shacks near rivers, lakes and dams. It was aimed at providing entertainment to the tourists along Puri and Konark beaches like Goa to boost revenue. “Temporary licences for liquor sale will be issued to OTDC at the eco-retreat venues at promotional rate. Besides, for the purpose of promoting tourism, serving of liquor in beach shacks is allowed. The licence for location and the number of beach shacks allowed for serving liquor will be based on approval of the Tourism department.”

In 2021 too, the then BJD government had to shelve its plans to set up beach shacks at six places in the state, including Puri sea beach, following protests.