A law that was enacted in December in India states that establishments serving liquor are no longer allowed to be located within 500 meters of a highway. After starting its enforcement period this weekend the law has led to the shutdown of hundreds of hotel bars in addition to liquor stores.
Honnagiri Gowda, the general secretary of the Karnataka Wine Merchants Association spoke about the change in a recent interview.
“The majority of the licenses are CL2 (retail), CL9 (bars and restaurants) and hotels. According to our estimates, nearly 70 percent of all such outlets are on the highways across the state and in Bengaluru, we are looking at 60 percent of the licenses going away.”
States in the country are concerned with the loss of revenue that will undoubtedly follow the closures.
