Highway Liquor Ban: How Twitter Is Reacting To The Supreme Court Order

At the stroke of midnight on Friday night, all those bars and pubs in the country that were situated less than 500 metres away from a national highway, went dry. It was officially 1st April, and a Supreme Court order banning liquor being sold within 500 metres of a highway had come into effect. When the order had been passed on December 15, there had been widespread confusion about what the ban entailed.

Was it just limited to liquor vends on the Highway, or did it include any hotel, restaurant or bar serving alcohol?

Places like Chandigarh, ironically, the home of the petitioner who had filed a PIL for the ban, realized that all their main roads were in fact either a state or a national highway.

By the evening of March 31, there was no ambiguity. The Supreme Court clarified that its liquor ban included every point of sale of alcohol on the highway – from a simple liquor store to a posh restaurant.

It has been more than 48 hours since the order came into effect, and while the hospitality industry and state governments work together to come up with a solution, Twitter has been abuzz with reactions.

While some Twitterati are hoping for a positive outcome, many have ridiculed the new rule, calling it ‘outrageous ’.

Reactions Supporting the Ban

Object of stopping drunk driving will be diluted if liquor ban restricted to only vends. Bars, pubs, restaurants on highways come under ban

— Krishnadas Rajagopal (@kdrajagopal) March 31, 2017

#LiquorBan Its not the question about ban is right or wrong, end of the day by saving a person we are saving a family…

— Kajal Verma (@kverma777777) April 3, 2017

What is more important revenue or security. Ban on liquor shops on highways is a radical change in perspective

— Ritesh Bajpai (@Ask_Ritesh) April 3, 2017

#liquorban why blame supreme Court . For once we should appreciate such a good decision for making our roads safe. It's not like alcohol ban

— lets_tweet (@jaigoenka) April 2, 2017

Great initiative by our honourable SC. Really appreciate this hard decision which will definitely reduce highway accidents. #LiquorBan

— Vishal Gautam (@visgtm) April 1, 2017

Reactions Against the Ban

SC's order on #liquorban is a desperate proof of failure of legislative intent & executive action. It is a classic example of #courtocracy

— Ameyavikrama Thanvi (@AmeyavikramaT) April 3, 2017

SC highway booze ban causes long lines, short tempers Thousands of liquor shops and bars on highways went dry on Saturday as authorities we… pic.twitter.com/1LN8LlRGKW

— Karthi SRV (@KarthiSRV) April 3, 2017

@PMOIndia ??pls save Tourism Industry ,Limit SC sale liquor ban only to liquor Vends on highways Tourism will die sudden with this SC order

— sunny virk (@sunvirk) April 2, 2017

While the world moves forward our gov and SC on taking us back to the dark ages by telling us what to eat and to drink #beefban #LiquorBan

— Anupam Dasgupta (@reddevilanupam) April 1, 2017

#liquorban in #chandigarh pubs, restaurants n hotels has lead to a #candle light march by those who got #jobless ??? pic.twitter.com/u5ahJWRmFa

— Amit Umadatta (@Dattaamit11Amit) April 3, 2017

#liquorban
Saddest day of hospitality industry.
Business loss,employment,corruption,revenue n tax loss 4 gvrnt#SupremeCourt#NarendraModi

— Shrikant Singh (@27Singhshrikant) April 1, 2017

#liquorban xcise department have sealed the premises now how should we earn our bread and butter?from where we should feed our family pic.twitter.com/YGTwRKsUGh

— ☫SINGH ਰਾਜਪੂਤ☬?? (@HatindersinghR) April 3, 2017

@narendramodi @rsprasad @arunjaitley govt must get SC to rescind order on liquor ban on highways.its individual choice of people travelling

— raghuram.t.s (@ragh1960) April 3, 2017

As per 2015 statistics by Ministry of Road Transport and Highway, drink driving caused 55,504 accidents between 2013 and 2015, resulting in 20,186 deaths and 58,326 injuries.