In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, people staged protests against authorities’ decision to open wine shops in Baramulla and Doda districts.Residents of the Lagama area of Uri in Baramulla district held a protest demonstration against the establishment of a liquor shop on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road.
The protesters said, on one hand, the occupation authorities are saying that they are making efforts to eliminate the drug menace from society, while on the other, they are making the drugs easily accessible by opening wine shops in the area.
A protester mentioned that a mosque is situated right opposite to the proposed site of a liquor shop, which speaks volumes about the authorities’ disregard towards the people’s religious sentiments. The residents said that the highest authorities must intervene and prevent the department concerned from opening wine shops in the area.
A similar protest was held by the residents of Gandoh area in Doda where the protesters blocked Gandoh-Jie road against the opening of wine shops in Dadar Gandoh near private schools at Sub-District Headquarters Gandoh.
The protesters, especially women residing in Gandoh and Dadhar, were chanting slogans against the opening of the wine shops in the residential areas. They said that the administration was deliberately indulging the youth in drug addiction by opening such shops in populated areas. “It is difficult for women, girls and school going children to pass from the front of the wine shop, which was established near the two private schools,” they said. They also said that the authorities were violating rules and regulations by opening the wine shops in populated areas and near religious and educational places, which was not acceptable.
Pertinently, after the revocation of IIOJK’s special status in August 2019, the Modi-led Indian government is forcefully implementing its anti-Muslim agenda in the occupied territory, and opening of wine shops in Muslim inhabited areas is part of its nefarious plan as drinking and sale of liquor is strictly prohibited in Islam.—INP
