How Dehradun's picturesque spots are becoming public drinking hubs

DEHRADUN: If one goes for an evening walk along Old Mussoorie Road especially on weekends, it is a common sight to see cars parked haphazardly on the side of the road and groups of men openly drinking, with some using their vehicle’s roof as a table-top. The pristine atmosphere is further disturbed by the sound of loud music coming from the vehicles.
Terming it as a major problem, Reshma Akhtar, a resident of Rajpur, said, “It is disturbing to see scores of liquor bottles lying across the road when one goes for a walk at Old Mussoorie Road.Even at night, people park their cars on a lonely stretch of the road and keep consuming alcohol for hours. Sometimes, it becomes unsafe to even drive through that area because you find people creating all sorts of nuisance after getting drunk.”
Reenu Paul, founding president of citizens’ group Rajpur Community Initiative, said that many people buy liquor from a shop at Rajpur bazaar at the beginning of the Old Mussoorie Road..“Often, these people park their vehicles near the shop and start consuming liquor in their cars creating a traffic bottleneck in the area. The shop got closed for a week after the Supreme Court ruling of shutting down of all liquor shops on highways. But the state government through some amendment converted Old Mussoorie Road from a highway into a district road which brought back the shop.”
She further added, “We have even approached the local police station to deploy policemen over there at least during the weekends but they have not done it till now.”
When queried, Shweta Choubey, SP (City), claimed that “regular checks are being conducted in areas which have become popular with people drinking in public spaces.” She added that “we have recently assigned a PCR van only for this cause and ordered the police stations to conduct regular drives in their respective areas.”
Deepak Dwivedi, sub-inspector of Rajpur police station claimed that “patrolling is being done up to Maggi Points at Old Mussoorie Road and only one or two violators were found in 10 days of patrolling.’’
However, despite police claims, the problem continues to persist. A spot check by TOI on Friday and Saturday found several people drinking while sitting in their cars on Old Mussoorie Road.
Incidentally, the menace is also prevalent in many other parts of the city like Jakhan, Patel Nagar, Dalanwala and Mothrowala.
A resident of Aaraghar, Alok Negi, said, “With a liquor vend near our area, we are continuously facing the problem of public drinking and the menace it causes. Not only cars, one can also spot people openly drinking near food stalls too.”
(With inputs by Kautilya Singh)