Outcry in Qazigund: Complete shutdown as locals protest against liquor shop

QAZIGUND — Qazigund town on Srinagar-Jammu Highway in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district observed a complete shutdown against the opening of a liquor shop.

All the shops were seen shut in the town while locals have been demanding immediate closure of the said liquor shop.

“It will be a source of waywardness and give rise to moral corruption. The government is claiming that it has been acting tough against the drug peddlers but allowing wine shops to operate freely. This is duality,” one of the locals said while speaking to the news agency KNT.

Another local said that the opening of a liquor shop will prove counterproductive and disastrous for youth. “It’s time to keep youth away from drugs and liquor and not to encourage them to buy and consume liquor with government permission,” he said.

In the past as well, protests have been witnessed against the opening of liquor shops in different parts of Kashmir Valley.

Recently, Muslims, Sikhs, and Pandits jointly staged a protest against the same issue in north Kashmir’s Uri, forcing the administration to close down the liquor shop.