Bhubaneswar: Dozens of activists under the banner of Milita Odisha Nisha Nibarana Abhijana (MONNA) Wednesday protested against the liquor sales policy of Odisha government that allows online sales and home delivery of alcoholic beverages.
Protesting against the policy at Master Canteen square in Bhubaneswar, MONNA president Padma Charan Naik urged the government to reconsider the decision.
“The nation is celebrating 150th birth anniversary of Gandhiji. Instead of taking steps to fulfil his dream of creating a liquor-free India, the government is clearing the path to deliver liquor at doorsteps. State government, in last 20 years, has increased availability of liquor by 10 times,” Naik said.
“Government’s new policy will further increase liquor menace and will affect lakhs of youth across the state. As the liquor is the main element behind violence, state government’s initiative to add nonviolence in preamble of the Indian Constitution is a disrespect to Gandhiji,” he added.
It may be mentioned here that apart from MONNA, a number of other civil society organizations have protested the government decision in the recent past after the government announced online sales and home delivery of liquor amid COVID induced lockdown.
