No Alcohol Shops On State And National Highways
Country’s honorary Supreme Court has set a deadline of April 1, 2017
Drinking and driving isn’t a problem that needs any kind of introduction. While the problem lies in complete disobedience of the laws that the civil forces have in place, it also has to do with the vast number of liquor shops available almost everywhere. Even after knowing the consequences of drink-and-drive, which includes hefty monetary fines, driving license suspension and a possible imprisonment, we hear several accident stories on a daily basis involving drunk drivers.
Now, though, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India has passed a resolution which states that liquor shops will not be allowed on state or national highways from April 1, 2017. The license of the existing shops will not be renewed. Shops selling any kind of alcohol must be at least 500 metres away from state or national highways. The court has also ordered the removal of all liquor banners and advertisements from all the shops on highways.
These orders have to be completed before the set timeline by the chief secretary and police chiefs of all the states. The resolution of shutting down all the liquor stores on highways has been passed for the safety and security of all the commuters.
This move will surely help in reducing the number of accidents that take place on roads. One of the petitions pointed out that close to 1,400 accidents take place on roads of our country every day. Another shocking piece of data stated 400 deaths take place every day on Indian roads, which roughly translates to about 17 fatalities every hour. Arrive Safe, an NGO, reported that nearly 1.42 lakh people die annually in road accidents, a huge chunk of which is due to drunk driving.