VISAKHAPATNAM: Liquor shops in the vicinity have become a menace for the residents of MVP Colony. As the area is dotted with several colleges, women’s hostels and residential areas, the tipplers often resort to verbal duels, arguments and even eve-teasing, much to the inconvenience of the residents. The boozers also litter the roads with liquor bottles and left-over food packets, the residents allege.
MVP Colony, one of the posh areas in the city, has become a den for boozers who create nuisance on the roads even during mornings. The MVP area near Appugarh Junction has more than two liquor shops which are crowded with customers from morning till night.
According to the residents, even in daytime, people come and drink and indulge in arguments. Worse, they deface the walls and dump water sachets and waste in the drain.
“This has been a problem for many years. As we come out of the house, we find at least two people littering the walls and sleeping on the roads in inebriated condition. As we cannot argue with them everyday, we complain to the officials who impose fine on them. However, the situation repeats the next morning,” said a resident of the MVP Colony.
The watchmen and maids of the nearby houses find the situation becoming worse after 6 pm when the men drink and resort to verbal duels on the roads. With colleges and hostels nearby, students going on the way in the evenings often fall prey to them.
High on alcohol, the tipplers harass and tease the students. They also throw plastic waste in the drains. We have become tired of complaining that they deface our walls,” said Jeevan, a resident.
Besides, women in the area are scared to go out in the evening wherever they find a group of people on roads. Teasing students and women is common, he added. According to sources, the wine shop is not owned by one person, every six months it is sold to others in auction.
While a wine shop is meant to only sell liquor, the shop owners allow people to drink inside the shops. At times, when the officials issue a notice, the shop is closed for 2 or 3 days before the situation comes back to square one.
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