Liquor shop in Srinagar shut down after traders protest, Mirwaiz threatens mass agitation
Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir administration has reportedly sealed a newly opened liquor outlet in Srinagar’s Batamaloo locality following widespread opposition from local traders and religious leaders. The decision comes amid rising public anger and a call for shutdown issued by business associations in the area.
On Friday, traders in Batamaloo staged a demonstration against the liquor shop and announced a three-day shutdown as a “mark of peaceful protest,” asserting that the outlet threatened the region’s “social and cultural fabric.”
In a joint notice signed by several traders' associations and shopping complexes, business leaders urged the administration to act swiftly. “We appeal to the concerned authorities to intervene and take action immediately,” the notice read, citing the negative impact of the liquor store on the locality’s ethos.
Vice-president of the Batamaloo Traders’ Association, Wasim Afroz Khan, told The Wire that the residents and shopkeepers were unanimously against the liquor shop. “We will not allow it to happen. Tourists don’t come here to drink liquor; they come for our climate, forests, and mountains,” Khan said.
According to reports, the liquor outlet was relocated from Pantha Chowk to Batamaloo to accommodate the ongoing Amarnath Yatra.
Prominent religious leader and Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq issued a stern warning during his sermon at Srinagar’s historic Jamia Masjid on Friday. He termed the liquor store “a deliberate attempt to ruin our people and our future generations.”
Speaking after the Friday prayers, Mirwaiz denounced the move as an “assault on our religious, cultural and societal ethos” and warned of mass protests if such decisions continued. He lauded the Batamaloo traders for taking a principled stand and demanded immediate government intervention.
“It is the government’s duty to ensure that such proposals are nipped in the bud. If they fail, then the ulemas, civil society and masses will have no option but to protest,” he said.
Following mounting pressure, the liquor shop was reportedly sealed by the authorities later the same day.
The Wire noted that this is perhaps the first time since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 that authorities have reversed their own decision following a warning from the Hurriyat leadership.
The backlash also casts renewed scrutiny on the Union Territory’s liquor policy. On February 15 this year, the J&K Excise Department invited bids for 305 liquor vends across the region, including 14 in Kashmir’s tourist hubs such as Sonmarg, Pahalgam, Gulmarg, and parts of Baramulla and Kupwara.
The policy proposes opening liquor shops in seven wards of Srinagar and also at government-run tourist facilities and two airports. Authorities claim the move will encourage “processing and maturation of special spirits” under J&K’s climatic conditions for domestic and export purposes.
Facing criticism earlier this year, J&K Finance Minister Omar Abdullah, under whose department the Excise portfolio falls, distanced himself from the policy, saying the number of liquor vends remained unchanged.
The move has drawn criticism from several political quarters. PDP legislator Mir Muhammad Fayaz Mir introduced a private member’s bill seeking a complete ban on liquor sales and advertisements in the region. PDP president Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter, Iltija Mufti, launched a signature campaign against liquor sales in Kashmir.
Interestingly, senior BJP leaders, including former deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh and J&K Waqf Board chairperson Darakshan Andrabi, have also expressed support for a liquor ban in the Union Territory.
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Bridge collapse in Jammu: 3 bodies, 1 injured pulled out from rubble; probe ordered
Jammu (PTI): Rescue workers pulled out three bodies and an injured person from the debris of a partially collapsed old bridge during a 12-hour search operation on the outskirts of Jammu, officials said on Saturday.
One injured worker was rescued on Friday, shortly after a portion of the bridge collapsed in the Thuther area of Bantalab.
Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary rushed to the spot at midnight and ordered the suspension of two engineers. The government has also constituted a committee to probe the incident.
According to the officials, labourers were carrying out retaining wall and foundation-laying work on the bridge, which was damaged in flash floods last year, when a portion of it gave way, trapping four of them.
Police, Army, National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, and fire and emergency department immediately launched a rescue operation. The rescue teams first pulled out a labourer, who was identified as Tarsem Lal, the officials said.
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"The search and rescue operation concluded this morning. Three bodies have been recovered from the spot. Two others have been rescued in injured condition," a senior officer told PTI.
The bodies were recovered during the 12-hour search operation, which went on through the night under floodlights, the officials said.
Among the two injured was Divisional Fire Officer, Fire and Emergency Services Department, Mohammad Jaffar, who was hit by a boulder during the rescue operation. The injured have been hospitalised.
Deputy Chief Minister Choudhary was briefed about the incident after he reached the spot at midnight.
"I have ordered the suspension of the assistant executive engineer and the junior engineer. I have also issued directions to the engineer-in-chief for attachment of the executive engineer," he told reporters at the spot.
Choudhary ordered a probe into the incident and directed the authorities to complete it in five days.
Following his order, Assistant Executive Engineer Sahil Verma and Junior Engineer Sajad Mir were placed under suspension, pending inquiry into their conduct, the officials said.
The government has also constituted a three-member inquiry committee headed by Purshotam Kumar, Secretary Technical (Engineer-in-Chief), Public Works (R&B) Department, they said.
Superintendent Engineer, Public Works (R&B), Circle Jammu South, Arit Gupta, and Executive Engineer, Public Works (R&B) Satwari division, Rajan Mengi are members of the panel, they said.
