When the Chandigarh-based activist Harman Sidhu filed PIL against the selling of liquor along the major highways in the country he just had one thing in mind- to stop people from drinking and driving. But the shocking cum funniest part is that he enjoys drinking and does not support prohibition.
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With the Supreme Court’s order coming into force, many bars and restaurants in Sidhu’s hometown- Chandigarh that is being 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.”
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As Sidhu puts it, “Poora ragra lag gaya, sare hi hun lapete gaye ne (Everybody has been steamrolled). Sixty-eight 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.”