Chandigarh, April 3 (PTI): With the apex court banning the sale of liquor within 500 metres of highways, the affected hotel, bar and restaurant owners in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh are pinning hopes on the respective state governments to save their trade. The owners have alleged that the order would result in massive unemployment and financial loss to the state exchequer. They, however, ruled out approaching the court to seek a remedy in the issue. “Around 25,000 people will be jobless in Haryana alone because of the ban on serving liquor (within 500 metres of highways),” Hotel and Restaurant Association of Haryana (HRAH), President, Manbeer Chaudhary said today. “The tourism sector in the state will be most affected. Besides, the state revenue will also be badly hit,” he said. The HRAH representatives also met Haryana Excise and Taxation Minister Captain Abhimanyu and apprised him of the situation. He said that the immediate fallout of the ban has come in the form of cancellation of rooms by tour operators, causing massive loss to the hotel industry. “Out of 478 bars in Haryana, 194 bars will be affected by the Supreme Court order and most of them are situated in Gurugram,” he said.
