Bhopal: ABVP demands removal of liquor shop near MLB Girls' College

ABVP activists protested in Bhopal demanding the removal of a liquor shop near a girls' college. Citing student safety and harassment, they blocked a road and damaged the shop before submitting a memorandum to officials to end the demonstration.

Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) workers staged a massive protest against a liquor shop operating near Government Maharani Laxmi Bai Girls PG Autonomous College in Madhya Pradesh's capital Bhopal on Wednesday, demanding immediate removal of the shop.

Protestors Block Road, Cite Safety Concerns

The protestors sat on the road to mark their demonstration against the liquor outlet, blocking vehicular movement at the polytechnic intersection in the city. During the protest, some workers also broke the shop's signboard amid the demonstration and pelting stones at the shop and agitating workers attempted to break the shop's shutter as well.

"Today, workers of ABVP are protesting here against the liquor shop operating near the college. Two colleges (Sardar Vallabh Bhai Polytechnic College and MLB Girls PG College) are situated here and a liquor shop is operating within 100 meter radius from the college. The police administration is using force against us but they never acted on the shop. It shows that police receive bribes from the shop due to which they are hindering our protest. Our demand is that this liquor shop should be removed as soon as possible," a woman protester said.

Another protestor Aarti Thakur claimed that the liquor shop operating here is a safety concern for girl students. A girls' college is situated near this wine shop and when students pass from here, they face harassment. Additionally, there are no CCTV cameras near the shop which raise a serious question about the safety of girl students.

"Sardar Vallabh Bhai Polytechnic College and MLB Girls PG College are located here and a wine shop has been operated nearby the colleges for the last several years. They faced obscene comments while passing from here. Drunkards have turned this place into a hub for liquor consumption, and there are also several encroachments here. We demand that the liquor shop be removed from here at the earliest. If this does not happen, the AVBP will launch an aggressive protest and take action to uproot it," protestor Rameshwar Chauhan said.

Police Acknowledge Protest, Memorandum Submitted

Meanwhile, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Chandra Shekhar Pandey said, "A protest was staged near the polytechnic intersection, which is located between MLB college and polytechnic colleges, in the city today, demanding the removal of a wine shop situated here on the way between both the colleges. The wine shop is near the MLB college which led to the demonstration. SDM collected a memorandum from the protestors and after that the protest was called off."

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