The twin localities of Jhalupara and Mawbah (Barapathar) have begun to earn ill fame ostensibly due to the easy availability of liquor which attracts huge number of people to these localities everyday and especially on Sundays.
What compounds the problem is that there are several eateries in the localities which sell liquor illegally even though they do not have the necessary permission to do so.
Many residents of the localities complained that on Sundays the area becomes the happy hunting ground for many wine lovers who gather in hordes to seek their quota of liquor. Vehicles, mostly with dark glasses, converge in the area by the dozens on Sundays and after having their share they mostly indulge in rowdy behaviours that often results in petty fights that disturbs the peace in the neighbourhood.
Residents of the locality allege that these eateries sell wine liquor at all hours of the day and even on dry days, which is a clear violation of the law.
The two localities have several schools, a hospital (Reid Chest Hospital), even a police beat house and is a fully residential area, yet the illegal sale and consumption of liquor continues unabated.
When contacted, the in charge of the Jhalupara Beat House told The Shillong Times that they often conduct raids in these restaurants to stop the illegal sale of liquor.
“When we raid they stop it for few days but again they indulge in the illegal trade,” the police officer said, adding that they would require the active cooperation of the headmen of the localities and local NGOs to stop the menace.
However, residents of the locality allege that the beat house police personnel are hand in glove with these illegal traders as during raids conducted on several occasions in the past, very less quantity of IMFL was actually seized.
The Rangbah Shnong of Mawbah, while speaking to The Shillong Times, said that the village council has never issued any No Objection Certificate (NOC) to these liquor shops.
“NOC is given only for restaurants who sell different types of food items,” the headman said.
When The Shillong Times contacted the headman of Jhalupara, he refused to comment anything over phone.