Srinagar: BJP leader Altaf Thakur on Monday asked the Jammu and Kashmir government to shift the liquor shop at Pantha Chowk in the city to a tourist place as the present store was in the vicinity of a school and a religious place.
Thakur, who is also a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesman, expressed concern over the opening of the liquor shop, saying it has “hurt the sentiments” of people living in the area.
“The place has a school nearby, a mosque, a tehsil office and a police station. It is not feasible at all to open liquor shop at a public place,” the BJP leader said.
Thakur urged the Excise Department and the administration to shift the liquor store from Pantha Chowk to some other place, preferably a tourist spot.
He said Kashmir is a conservative society and opening liquor shops at public places can “disrupt the peaceful atmosphere”.
