No liquor in beach shacks in Puri

Puri(13/09/2024): The Odisha government on Friday imposed restrictions on the operations of beach shacks, which were allowed to serve liquor. Changes were made in the Excise Policy in view of the massive protests and opposition to the new Excise Policy. Earlier, the Excise Policy for 2024-25 which came into effect from September 1, 2024 stipulated that serving of liquor in beach shacks is allowed in the state for promotion of tourism. However, the license for location and number of beach shacks allowed for serving liquor will be based on the approval given by the Tourism department. In the fresh notification, the Excise department stated that allowing beach shacks in Puri is not in the interest of preserving the socio-religious-cultural significance of the land of Lord Jagannath.