With steps against alcohol consumption in public places, Gurugram residents feel safer, say a lot can change

With drinking in public places becoming a major nuisance in Gurugram, the city residents have welcomed the measures put forward by the government in implementing tough measures against drinking in public areas.

According to city residents, the move, if implemented well, can prove to be useful in reducing incidents of accidents, rash driving and crimes in the city.

Most of the residents in the city also highlighted that how the lack of action by the government in the past has resulted in mushrooming of large number of unlicensed wine and beer shops in the city.

Most of these bars and wine shops are in close vicinity of the residential areas.

Taking cue from the national Capital, the Haryana government has also imposed tough measures on alcohol consumption in public places across the state.

Besides taking punitive action on the people who drink at the public places, the Haryana government will also act against people who consume alcohol inside their vehicles at public places.

According to the Haryana government guidelines, a fine of Rs 5,000 will be imposed on people caught drinking in their vehicles.

If a person is breaching the law for the second time, the fine will add up to Rs 10,000 per person.

The Haryana government has also stated that all the wine and beer shops will now be licensed under Punjab and Haryana Excise Act under Section 14.

"There is a wine and beer shop just outside our office complex. Most of the people come here with their friends, park their vehicles in the wrong places and start consuming alcohol in the vehicles. They play loud music and create ruckus. There is also a Metro station close by and most of the women also travel though this area at night. Imagine the kind of insecurity which these women face daily," said Kanika Rawat who works for a multinational company in Global Business Park.

"Along the border of Delhi, the Gurugram Traffic Police has put up barricades where they will check people for drunken driving. But, just a few kilometres from the place, there are around five wine and beer shops functioning in continuation and there is just no police presence in that area,"  added Rawat.

Welcoming the tough measures by the state government, a senior traffic official of Gurugram Police said: "Of late, we have increased our surveillance for checking drunken driving. We will deploy more professionals along major routes in the city to make these measures a success."