MDC residents move court against opening of liquor vends

Panchkula, April 8
The residents of the Mansa Devi Complex (MDC) have moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the opening of liquor vends in the area.

Devinder Mahajan, president, MDC Residents Welfare Association, in his petition said they were not against the opening of the liquor vends, but wanted these to be shifted to some other place.

He urged the court to direct the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) to cancel the sites of liquor vends.

Mahajan also urged the state government to declare the MDC area as a sacred place like Kurukshetra, Pehowa and Thanesar where the sale of liquor had been banned by state government. He said similar restriction should also be imposed in the area as lakhs of people from across the country visit Mata Mansa Devi Temple during Navratra Fair held twice a year.

He said small liquor vends had been opened on all roads leading to the shrine. He said one of the shops was 20 m away from the Singh Dwar constructed by the Mata Mansa Devi Shrine Board at an estimated cost of around Rs 10 crore. He said on the one hand, the state government wanted to beautify the area to attract the attention of the devotees in the country while on the other it had allowed the opening of liquor vends in the area thus hurting the religious sentiments of people.

Echoing similar sentiments, patron of the RWA Maj Gen (Retd) GS Hundal said the opening of liquor vends in the MDC area was undesirable. He said the government should take immediate steps to maintain the sanctity in the 3-km radius of the shrine. He said they were not against the opening of liquor vends as it generated income for the state government. He said keeping in view the faith and feelings of the general public, the government should immediately shift these to some other place.