No Beach Sacks Serving Liquor In Puri As Odisha Govt Withdraws Proposal Amid Protests
Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Friday withdraw proposal to set up the beach shacks, serving liquor, on Puri beach for promotion of tourism in the state.
“It is hereby notified that no license shall be granted to operate beach shacks in the jurisdiction of Puri Municipality and within 5 kms of any other places of socio-religious-cultural significance,” the Excise Department notification said.
This came a couple of days after Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati opposed the move and various organisations y held protest rallies in front of the 12th century Shree Jagannath temple. They also submitted a memorandum to the chief minister through Puri Collector Sidhartha Shankar Swain.
“Puri is a holy place. It’s known for its spiritualy. Setting up beach shacks will be a disgrace to its spiritual sanctity. It will bring a bad name to Jagannath culture. We do Bhajan, Kirtan, and evening aarti on the seashore. We need not to pollute this atmosphere,” the Puri seer had said after Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) invited bids to set up beach shacks along the coastline, initially from Puri to Konark to promote beach tourism.
In 2021 too, the then BJD government had to shelve its plans to set up beach shacks at six places of the state, including Puri sea beach following protests.
