When Chandigarh-based activist Harman Sidhu filed a PIL against shops selling liquor along major highways in the country, he had only one thing in mind — stopping people from drinking and driving. The last thing he wanted to see was popular watering holes in cities shut down.
That's because he, too, enjoys his drink and does not support prohibition.
With the Supreme Court's order coming into force+ , many bars and restaurants in Sidhu's hometown — Chandigarh — have been forced to go dry. "I, too, am feeling the pinch," he says. "I love to drink and I have to go that extra mile to fetch my stock. I can't accept that a large part of Chandigarh is going dry."
He blames the Chandigarh administration for what he calls a "goof-up". "Highways are supposed to be outside cities and to be used only for long drives," he explains. "But thanks to the Chandigarh authorities' goof-up, there are many highways within Chandigarh. This could well have been a world record of sorts. Now everybody, including me, will have to suffer."
As Sidhu puts it, "Poora ragra lag gaya, sare hi hun lapete gaye ne (Everybody has been steamrolled). Sixtyeight petitions against the order have been filed in the Supreme Court by various states and associations, and Chandigarh could have been the 69th. But the administration is getting into technicalities and is making things complicated. Had they explained their case citing territorial reasons, things would have been different. Instead they de-notified and changed the nomenclature of roads, adding to the confusion."