Cherlapally residents cry foul over wine shop; police deny trouble in area

Cherlapally: For the past four years, residents here are living in the shadow of the menace that comes with a wine shop situated on the main road. With growing complaints of accident reports and civic nuisance, locals rue that the police provide no security. What’s more? They claim that the law-enforcement officials are absent at the police outpost.

According to Murali, a resident of the area, “Children below 18 years have taken to drinking. We asked the wine shop owners not to sell alcohol to under-age people, but they threaten us of dire consequences if we raise our voices against them.”

According to residents it becomes difficult for women and children to move in the area after 4.30pm. Not only are there traffic jams on the main road, but drunkards indulge in creating civic nuisance and harass people. In addition, their intoxicated nature poses a risk to their life, too. Yadagiri, an auto driver said, “There have been many accidents here, but the police did not issue any warning to the wine shop owners. Last month a drunk old man died trying to cross the road. This has become a norm in the area.”

Perhaps what poses a major risk to people is the absence of law-enforcement agents at the police outpost. According to residents, officials are never present at the outpost, which is the only one located four kilometres away from Cherlapally. Krishnapriya, a homemaker lamented, “We are scared of going out of home. People are seen drinking even during the day. There are no CCTV cameras in our localities.”

Cherlapally has close to 100 colonies with over 35,000 people. Unappealing visuals of people drinking in public places, and people lying unconscious on the roads are increasingly becoming the norm here.

Meanwhile, police deny any such happenings. Radhe Krishna, a senior police officer in the area asserted, “There have been petty cases filed against drunkards about six months ago. But as far as I remember, everything is peaceful over the last two months now. There are no drinking cases booked against people in the broad day light.”
Officials were however mum as to why there was nobody at the outpost.