Serving liquor on-site: Excise dept cracks whip, serves notices, warnings to composite shops
In its ground report of May 8, Hindustan Times had flagged these locations as among those blatantly flouting norms
Acting swiftly after Hindustan Times exposed illegal liquor consumption at composite shops, the Lucknow district excise department served notices to the shop allottee on Shahnajaf Road and warned other allottees on Friday, confirmed Lucknow district excise officer Karunendra Singh.
In its ground report of May 8, Hindustan Times had flagged these locations as among those blatantly flouting norms.
Singh said that a team of inspectors conducted surprise inspections across multiple shops identified in the HT report.
“We formed a committee on May 8 and launched checks the same day at night. Wherever violations were found, we issued notices,” Singh said.
He said that warnings have been issued only to such composite shops where the drinking facility was not on the premises of the allottees but somewhere outside.
Singh added that people drinking in open and public places is prohibited. If such incidents happen again at any shop which has been issued a warning, then action would be taken along with fines.
Singh confirmed that regular enforcement drives will now be conducted across the city. “We will take immediate action against any composite shop found violating norms. All complaints will be followed up without delay,” he added.
Hindustan Times’s ground report had found that many composite liquor shops; licensed only for takeaway sales, were illegally allowing people to consume alcohol on-site. Some even ran kitchen set-ups without food safety licences and served food alongside liquor, creating bar-like environments in violation of rules.
The report also highlighted how these shops operated brazenly near police stations and excise offices, raising questions about regulatory oversight.
According to Singh, the major difference between a composite and a model shop is that a composite shop cannot serve liquor, even after applying for a canteen licence, and there are no specific land criteria. However, a model shop requires a minimum area of 400 square feet and is permitted to serve liquor upon payment of a fee to the department.