SRINAGAR: The Union Territory administration in Ladakh has rejected allegations by climate activist and Leh Apex Body (LAB) leader Sonam Wangchuk that liquor shops and bars were being opened across the region, claiming that only one liquor shop and 50 retail liquor outlets are operating in the cold desert, while nine hotels in Leh and one in Nubra hold liquor licences.
The UT administration was responding to Wanghcuk’s statement in a press conference in New Delhi on October 22 in which the climate activist had stated that 500 to 1,000 women are staging a protest in Ladakh against the sale of alcohol that is being forced upon Ladakh.
“Two months back, a decision was made to open liquor shops all over Ladakh. Despite people giving repeated written representation and holding protests, bars are still being forcibly opened in every street, every neighborhood, and even near schools,” Wangchuk had claimed.
In a post on X yesterday, the climate activist had stated that “protesting mothers in Ladakh continued their dharna sit-in for the 6th day today and even stopped traffic for a short while on NH1”.
“They're protesting against the whimsical policies of Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh like fighting drugs with alcohol shops & bars (sic),” he said.
The Excise Department of Ladakh administration in a statement termed Wangchuk’s allegations as false, baseless and totally imaginary.
According to the Excise Department, the new Excise Policy for 2026–27 was notified through government order S.O. 198 on June 1, 2026.
“However, following feedback and suggestions from members of the public and social organisations, Lieutenant Governor accepted their concerns and rolled back the policy on August 26, 2026 and accordingly the proposal to open wine shops under the new policy was withdrawn, and the auction notice issued was also cancelled,” the Excise Department stated.
Following the rollback, the previous Excise Policy for 2025–26, notified through S.O. 35 on April 4, 2025, was restored on August 26, 2026.
Under the restored policy, only two liquor shops were permitted in Leh, located in Ward Nos. 4 and 6.
“However, only one of these outlets had become operational. A wine shop in Ward No. 6, Leh, was opened following an auction conducted on October 14, 2026. In Ward No. 4, no bid was received during the auction, and consequently, no liquor shop was opened,” stated the Excise department.
It claimed that as on date, only one liquor shop is operational in the entire Ladakh UT.
On Wangchuk’s charge of opening liquor bars, the Excise department stated that 50 retail liquor outlets operating in conjunction with restaurants are currently functional across Ladakh. Of these, 38 are in Leh, seven in Nubra, three in Zanskar and two in Changthang.
“2 beer bars are also operational in Leh. Besides, 09 hotels in Leh have liquor licenses, out of which 04 have applied and issued this year. One hotel in Nubra also applied and got a license this year,” it stated.
According to the Excise Department, licences are issued to only those who apply as per norms and are issued in accordance with the distance criteria” from highways, religious and educational institutions.
The distance criteria, it claimed, has also been adopted for the license issued to hotels.
The LG administration advised Wangchuk to “take a brief pause from such statements and verify the facts from official sources before feeding completely false and imaginary claims to the national media and the people at large”.
