Ban on wine-shops, say Kharghar residents

In an attempt to maintain proper educational environment in the town, Kharghar was declared as a dry zone at the behest of residents and activists around two decades ago. As of now, this is the only liquor free zone in Navi Mumbai where there is no one has been given license to open wine shop.

However, a close observation reveals that this ban on wine shop is nothing but an eyewash, as liquors are available in every nook and corner of the town. Sudhakar Kode, a resident of sector 34 in Kharghar, said, "A large number of villagers of Kharghar have been selling liquors as their traditional business. They don't have any permanent shop but they are popular among their local customers through word-of-mouth publicity.

Therefore, they never face any trouble while selling liquors." "There are more than fifteen such unlicensed wine shops only in Papdicha Pada of sector 35. This apart some families of Owa village and Owepath village have also been illegally selling liquors for last many years. Apart from the branded wines, various types of country-made liquors are also available in their stocks," he said. "Their modus operandi is that they transport the liquors in some SUVs from various places of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai at night and distribute among themselves. Students who stay in the hostels of the town and other working professionals are their regular customers. Even though the Kharghar police are aware of this fact, they are taking no action against these culprits till now," he added. 

Gurunath Gaikar, deputy sarpanch of Kharghar Gram panchayat said, "We have not allowed to open any wine shop in Kharghar ever since City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) developed the area in early 1980s. One relative of a local politician opened a wine shop here in 2007, but had to close it within a week due to public protest. "We, the members of gram panchayat, met the deputy collector of Raigad district several times and requested not to allow any wine shop in the area. Despite our continuous efforts some people are selling liquors in the area only thinking about their personal benefits. The police department should take stern action against such people," he added. "We are taking all possible steps to stop the villagers selling liquor in our area. Around 25 cases have been registered against villagers for selling liquors in the last five to six months. We also arrested a 60-year-old lady who sold liquor at her residence a couple of months ago," said a senior police officer from Kharghar police station.

"Our beat marshal teams are regularly patrolling the village area to those areas under surveillance. We are also conducting nakabandis at various places to prevent buyers," he added.