U-Turn by Odisha Govt; Withdraws Decision to Sell Liquor at Beach Shacks in Puri

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Friday took a u-turn and clarified that no beach shacks will be allowed in the holy city of Puri.

The state government modified its earlier declared excise policy regarding beach shacks because of protests and opposition. Earlier, the Excise Policy for 2024-25 which came into effect from September 1, 2024, allowed sell of liquor at beach shacks to promote tourism. However, the license for location and the number of beach shacks allowed for serving liquor was to be based on the approval given by the Tourism Department.

In its latest notification, the Excise department announced that allowing beach shacks in Puri is not in the interest of preserving the socio-religious-cultural significance of the land of Lord Jagannath. Similarly, there are other places of religious significance within the state, in the vicinity of which beach shacks are likely to create adverse impact on the social- religious-cultural atmosphere.

“Therefore, it is proposed to issue a clarification to the effect that beach shacks will not be allowed in the jurisdiction of Puri Municipality as well as within 5 kilometers of such other places of socio-religious-cultural significance in other parts of Odisha. Such other places may be decided by the government after due deliberations,” read the notification of the Excise Department.