Odisha Excise Minister Prithviraj Harichandan, said the Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi-led BJP dispensation will soon bring a new excise policy, which will mandate the closure of all dance bars in the state.

The BJP government in Odisha will close down all dance bars operating in the state and also shutter liquor shops near educational institutions and temples, in its crackdown on illegal liquor trade running in the state.

Local media reports quoting Odisha Excise Minister Prithviraj Harichandan, said the Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi-led BJP dispensation will soon bring a new excise policy, which will mandate the closure of all dance bars in the state.

Harichandan also said that all liquor shops operating near temples, schools, and colleges, will be closed down, and will only be granted permission to operate at a specified distance away from these institutions.

Attacking the previous Naveen Patnaik-led BJD dispensation, Harichandan alleged that the BJD regime allowed illegal liquor business to flourish in Odisha, but the BJP has a strong stance against this, adding that a new excise policy will soon come into force to completely dismantle the illegal liquor trade network.

The minister asserted that the new policy will initiate a brutal crackdown on the illegal liquor trade and crush its network within a year, Kalinga TV reported.

“The previous government had allowed illegal liquor trade, we will never allow it. A new policy will come into force, the illegal liquor trade network will be completely destroyed,” the report quoted the minister as saying.

The BJP minister also warned that illegal liquor shops which have been constructed on encroached state-owned land will be razed to the ground.