DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat today said he had cancelled the licence of two liquor shops in his constituency following a protest by women.
"I have ordered officials to return the royalty of Rs 52 lakh deposited by the owners of the shops," he said after attending the ground-breaking ceremony of the University of North-West Himalayas in his assembly segment, Doiwala.
The decision to cancel their licenses was taken after a group of women conducted an anti-liquor drive in the area, Rawat said, adding "despite the step, people will still buy liquor from some other place".
The decision comes close on the heels of the Uttarakhand government decision to allow liquor vends to remain open between 12 noon and 6 pm in its new Excise Policy.
The decision will remain effective in all districts except Dehradun, Haridwar, Udhamsingh Nagar and Nainital. The government in its policy has set a tragedy of earning Rs 2310 cr from the liquor business.