70 liquor shops to reopen in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: As many as 70 liquor shops that were previously closed in the state will reopen, following permission granted by the Excise Department of Odisha government.

Out of these, the maximum number – 17 liquor shops – are located in Balasore. Other districts with closed shops include Ganjam with 10, Balangir with 2, Berhampur with 4, Cuttack with 7, Kandhamal with 3, Keonjhar with 3, Malkangiri with 1, Mayurbhanj with 8, Nayagarh with 9, Rourkela with 5, and Sambalpur with 1.

Additionally, the state plans to open 4 new ‘ON’ liquor shops and 3 breweries (liquor factories). The proposals have been put forward to open four new off-shop liquor outlets and three liquor manufacturing units.

This information was shared by Excise Minister Prithviraj Harichandan in response to a query by MLA Akhil Chandra Nayak in the Assembly on Saturday.