Women ransack liquor shop

Bhubaneswar: Angry with the reopening of a foreign liquor shop in their locality, hundreds of women here took up the cudgels and ransacked it on Wednesday. The women attacked the liquor shop at Tankapani Road and destroyed a large number of liquor bottles, police said.

As the women vastly outnumbered the shop attendants, they did not put up any resistance, the police said adding no case was registered.

Asked about the reason for the attack, Minati Pingua, who is spearheading the agitation said the liquor shop is only a 100 m away from Siridi Sai temple, which attracts a large number of devotees everyday. Besides, a large number of students use the road in front of it.

"The gathering of anti-social elements in front of the liquor shop has made our lives miserable," she said.

"The liquor shop was allowed to be opened on the road connecting five villages. The people who return to their homes after earning in the state capital spend a good amount at the shop," said Sulochana Das, a resident of Basuaghai village.

It had become difficult task for girls to come out of their houses after dark due to the liquor shop, the women said. As per norms bars and liquor shops should be located 500 m away from residential areas and 100 m away from places of worship and educational institutions.

The liquor shop was initially opened in 2010 and was closed down following agitation by women organizations and local residents. It reopened recently.