Panvel Municipal Corporation passes resolution to ban to ban liquor sale

Mumbai, December 20: Panvel Municipal Corporation passed a unanimous resolution to ban all sales and consumption of liquor in the city. The resolution now awaits a clearance from the Urban Development Department of the state. Also the good news is that this move wasn’t opposed by any party. 

In July 2017, Leader of the House BJP Corporator Paresh Thakur had raised a point of order and demanded liquor ban. "Many bars in Panvel were running even without permission. The liquor ban near highways also did not make deter them. We demand a complete liquor ban as all the residents are also its favour," Thakur said during his point of order earlier.

Leader of Opposition and Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) leader Pritam Mhatre said, "The real identity of the area is as an education hub and we want to uphold it. We hope the government will clear our resolution."

Commander SH Kalawat, a resident of sector 21 in Kharghar - a township that implemented the ban long ago - said, "We welcome the liquor ban in Panvel. Residents want to live a peaceful life and liquor ban is a long tradition in our area. We are happy that the politicians have kept their promise. Now we just have to see how they implement it."

The battle against liquor in Navi Mumbai is decade old. Few villages in Raigad have already passed the resolution and voted to ban alcohol in their area. Kharghar, which was a grampanchayat before it was merged into Panvel Municipal Corporation last year, was one of them.