Prayagraj: Taking a serious note of complaints about people consuming liquor openly on roads outside liquor shops and causing traffic congestion in the city, Prayagraj district administration has warned that licences of such shops may be suspended if the problem is not checked.Chairing a meeting of the district road safety committee on Friday, district magistrate, Manish Kumar Verma, expressed strong displeasure over reports of crowds gathering outside liquor outlets and people sitting in parked two-wheelers and four-wheelers near the shops to consume alcohol in the open.He directed the excise department to issue warnings to such liquor shops and suspend their licences if the situation does not improve.The DM also instructed excise officials to intensify enforcement and take strict action to curb public drinking around liquor vends.He also directed the assistant regional transport office and the police to launch a special drive against vehicles fitted with black films.To streamline traffic in the city, Verma said buses and trucks must be parked only at the 16 permanent holding areas identified in the urban limits. He also ordered the police, regional transport office and transport department to jointly crack down on unauthorised buses operating in the district.Action against trucks and other vehicles without registration numbers and unregistered vehicles will now be stepped up. An enforcement drive will also be carried out against helmetless riding, driving without seat belts and using mobile phones while driving. Repeated violation of traffic rules should invite suspension of driving licences and, in serious or repeated cases, cancellation of the licence.It was decided that road cuts on Tashkent Marg be closed before June 23.Proper parking of buses, along with arrangements for drinking water, mobile toilets and other basic passenger facilities, will be enhanced at the temporary Civil Lines bus station near Vidya Vahani School.
