NEW DELHI: To ensure road safety, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has written to chief secretaries of all state governments to take necessary action to remove liquor shops from being located directly on the National Highways and not to issue fresh licence if the location is squarely on the National Highways.
NHAI Chairman Raghav Chandra has sent an alert to the state governments that they will refuse access permission to liquor shops that are located or wish to be located squarely on National Highways.
The idea is that ban on sale of alcohol on the National Highways would help in reducing the road accidents due to drunken driving.
According to NHAI, about 5 lakh road accidents with 1.5 lakh fatalities per annum are reported in the country, which is highest in the world. The government has set a target of reducing accidental deaths by 50 percent by 2020.
“The issue is so serious that the Supreme Court has appointed a Committee under a retired Supreme Court Judge K S Radhakrishnan, to find ways by the different stakeholders to reduce the accidents,” it said.
The NHAI further said that the aforesaid Committee, in one of its recommendations to the apex court has recommended ban on sale of alcohol on the National Highways.