Puri: The liquor shops in Odisha’s Puri town and surrounding areas will remain closed one day before the Rath Yatra.
The Excise department, in a notification on Friday, said all liquor shops in the town and on its outskirts will be sealed from Sunday night. Around 34 retail outlets including 18 off-shops and 16 on-shops selling Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) will be shut down.
These shops will reopen after all the three chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra reach the Gundicha temple. Similarly, the liquor outlets will remain closed from June 26 for Bahuda Yatra of the Lords and reopen the day after ‘Sunabesha’ (gold attire) of the deities.
The department has also set up a control room at Excise Barrack to keep a watch on sale of liquor and other intoxicants during the car festival. The control room will work 24×7 till June 30.
Two teams under the supervision of District Excise Superintendent Jagdish Chandra Samal will carry out patrolling in the town to detect sale of liquor, ganja, brown sugar and other intoxicants. At the same time, 4 teams comprising two Inspectors, 6 Excise SIs, 13 ASIs and 29 constables will check the entry and exit points of the town.
