Laws of injustice

Ban sale of liquor on all National, State Highways from 1 April: Supreme Court

I woke up to this news and not much affected I was busy with my usual work. Then visiting social media I realised how the order shall affect lacs of people and families who had liquor stores and paid good amounts for their excise license.

Going into further details I saw the figures in newspapers. Revenue for five star hotel chains like Oberoi,Taj ,Hyatt and Accor groups together with small and medium enterprises shall cause a loss of 65000 crores to hospitality industry. 

Leaving the revenue loss it shall render lacs of people jobless and out of work in a scenario where jobs are in scarcity and banks not willing to give loans. Further to this SC changes the distance to 500 metres from Highway. So basically new shops and restaurants will come up and existing ones will die.

Someone looking for Alcohol will have no issues driving another 500 metres or even stocking the same with him. Surprisingly in this case banks are prompt to take recover loans advanced to vendors on highway who are duly servicing them and paying taxes. Banks only go on silent mode when Rich and influential are involved. Else they are quick to send recovery agents if you miss EMI for your car.

It is not the first time that rules have been mended to favour others. I remember few years back I was about to invest in a residential house to be rented to a bank as that the entire colony road was being used for commercial purposes in Malviya Nagar and Saket. However the deal go delayed and I missed out. 

Few days later all commercial activities were banned and my regret also went away. In fact I complimented congress government for acting strictly on illegal occupants. However to my surprise few months later all bans lifted and now commercial activities on highest scale all over the place. You can guess the motive?

Yes, six to seven malls were coming up in Saket and the entire mafia wanted the shopkeepers to shift to malls as they were not selling. As soon as Malls got their tenants the commercial activity again opened up as that is daily wage for MLA and other authorities of the area

My friend had a chemist shop on Vasant Kunj road which was threatened as illegal as it leads to airport and they wanted to broaden the road. Rightly so. He in hurry sold the shop to someone else. This is 10 years back. Has the road changed? No. No one shall dare to demolish illegal construction on that road leading to world best Airport,IGI. Reason coz majority is occupied by the peace loving religion.

The same is happening again. Shifting shops 500 to 200 metres is not going to solve any issue but shall create more jobless people and help others (who knows who) have already invested in property in area not covered within the distance. Is this fair? Business from one hand to other without any change in sales?



Let us see Road Accidents statistics

1214 road crashes occur every day in India.

Two wheelers account for 25% of total road crash deaths.

20 children under the age of 14 die every day due to road crashes in in the country.

377 people die every day, equivalent to a jumbo jet crashing every day.

Tamil Nadu is the state with the maximum number of road crash injuries

Speeding is the single factor responsible for the maximum number of deaths on Indian roads.

During 2014, 57,844 deaths – 41% of the total – were due to accidents caused by speeding.

Speeding has accounted for a similar share in the earlier years as well and has consistently accounted for over 50,000 deaths on roads for the past several years.

The frequency of traffic collisions in India is amongst the highest in the world. A National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report revealed that every year, more than 135,000 traffic collision-related deaths occur in India.

What was needed was stricter laws on drivers. Deployment of Traffic police with breath analysers every few KM. More cops to be deployed to check adherence who are  rather than busy catching hold of poor hawkers and bikes for small amount of money. If SC feels that closure of shops shall stop drink and drive they are mistaken. 

Many on twitter asked me only liquor has been removed rest they can run the restaurant. Those who have studied the business model shall know that main source of revenue is drinks. 

We have live examples of death in road accidents. But are we able to act against culprit?

Salman Khan case is biggest example of same.There have been many accidents in which because of celebrity limelight and monetary stronghold the matter has been suppressed and not faced any serious implications in the eyes of law. The Aaston Martin hit and run case is one of those cases where the eye witness gave the statement that a young man (Mukesh Ambani’s son Akash Ambani) came out of the Aaston Martin Rapid and hopped into security vehicle after hitting a Hundai car and then ramming into an Audi showroom but the next day an old employee of Reliance, Mr. Bansilal Joshi said he was responsible for the accident which occurred during a routine maintenance ride of the said car. He said that he panicked so he ran away. The police recorded his report but did not arrest him as they were not sure about who was the actual culprit.

What do we need

Overloading of commercial vehicles should be prosecuted under the Damage to Public Property ActLiability should be imposed on the transporter, consignor and consignee.

 Use of Road Safety devices – there should be no exemption for wearing helmets (such as the exemptions in favour of women in some States). Seatbelts should be compulsory for driver and front-seat passenger. On national highways, seatbelts should be compulsory for back-seat passengers, too.

In case of drunken driving (Section 20/185, MV Act), the norm should be suspension of the driving license and should be strictly enforced by traffic police and courts. 6 Page 7 

 Traffic Violations Database should be maintained to record data of violating vehicles, drivers and offences committed. This would help identify habitual offenders who could be awarded enhanced punishment. (f) Checking of overcrowded passenger vehicles, and cancellation of permit. 

 Improvement of road engineering: Concerned departments must inspect roads where frequent accidents occur. 

Digitization of driving licenses in the country, so that defaulters cannot obtain other licenses (upon cancellation or suspension of their license). (i) Issue of Fitness certificate for commercial vehicles should be based on stringent inspection. 

It is stringent laws and not banning liquor sales what is required. However respected Supreme Court believes in banning. Banning crackers on Diwali, not bothered of everyday pollution. Banning Dahi Handi or reducing height not increasing security. Banning use of DJ music late at night while others can use mikes at 4 AM to offer prayers. 

I request Respected PM Narendra Modi Sir and Mr Nitin Gadkari Sir to look into this matter. Just think of the fact. Liquor sales will bounce back and this will be a transitional phase. But the entrepreneurs who have paid taxes on time,Never complained of long queues during demonetisation shall be forced to sell their properties or surrender to banks with families on road. The new breed shall come up investing in area allowed and liquor sale shall stay.

I have no shops or interest in this business. But I have empathy for those whose family and kids are being affected. Requesting as for me and even for them our  PM is next to GOD. Please help