SAMBALPUR: With picnic season round the corner, Burla police have decided to strictly prohibit consumption of liquor at picnic spots along right dyke of Hirakud Dam Project here.
All vehicles and two-wheelers moving towards the picnic spots along the right dyke will be checked to put an end to liquor consumption by picnickers, said IIC of Burla police station MR Pradhan. It has also been decided to deploy police personnel at picnic spots along the dyke to enforce the ban at picnic spots. This apart, police patrolling will be intensified on the dyke during the picnic season, he added.
Last year, Burla police strictly prohibited liquor consumption at picnic spots after a clash erupted between two groups of picnickers along the right dyke in December. Police had also arrested nine persons for their involvement in the clash.
After imposing the ban following the incident, police had seized around 4000 bottles of liquor from picnickers during the picnic season last year.
The 10-km-long right dyke is a major attraction among thousands of revelers from the State and neighbouring Chhattisgarh during picnic season which begins in November and continues till March-end.
The sheer location of right dyke with vast expanse of blue water of Hirakud Dam on one side and hills on the other with black topped road in the middle makes it an ideal picnic spot
The State Government has also developed a patch along the dyke for picnickers. The area has plantation to provide shade and barricades have been erected to avoid mixing up of revelers.
The decision of Burla police to prohibit consumption of liquor at the picnic spots will instil a sense of security among the revelers and attract more numbers people to the place, helping in boosting tourism and revenue.