A Supreme Court order has authorised the sale of liquor at 27 licensed pubs and restaurants that fall under the jurisdiction of the MCG.
Twenty-seven pubs and restaurants on Sohna Road are waiting to resume their sale of liquor. These places that have been adhering to a ban prohibiting the sale of liquor within 500 metres of the state and national highways are now rejoicing at a recent order of the apex court.
This order clarifies that licensed restaurants and bars that are located and operate in areas under the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) are not required to adhere to the ban.
This translates to good news for the residents of Sohna Road, who, after the ban, were forced to travel long distances and go to places in Sector 29 and Cyber Hub.
Incidentally, most other restaurants and bars have received a clean chit in May to resume their liquor business. However, this has not yet been the case with these 27 pubs and restaurants.
Speaking about the inconvenience brought on by the liquor ban, Sarthak Kumar, a resident of Bestech Park View, says, “To socialise over drinks, we have to go to the Golf Course Road, which is quite a distance.”
“Sohna Road has lost its life with the bars and restaurants closed. It is difficult to go to Sector 29 every weekend. I work at Cyber City, so now have started frequenting Cyber Hub after work,” shares another resident.
The pub owners and restaurant owners are obviously rejoicing with the news of the court order. Vikas Sachdeva from Open Tap says, “It has been five months since the ban, and we have suffered financial losses. Sustaining the team was tough and so we are eagerly looking forward to the green signal.”
So has the green signal not yet been delivered? “Not yet,” shares another pub owner because the recent court order has not yet been made public.
When City Spidey approached HC Dahiya, Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner (West), he said, “We have received the copy of the order. However, we are awaiting directions from the higher authorities in our department to lift the ban over the Sohna Road pubs and restaurants. As soon as instructions come in, we shall renew the licenses.”
