 convener Arvind Kejriwal announced to make Amritsar and Anandpur Sahib 'holy cities' if voted to power in the state.){kind=link}
Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal on Friday announced to make Amritsar and Anandpur Sahib ‘holy cities’ if voted to power in the state.
The Delhi Chief Minister, who is on a five-day visit to Punjab, said the fight for making the state free of drugs and corruption had reached a decisive point.
After paying obeisance at the Golden Temple, Kejriwal said he intended to make the walled city area of Amritsar liquor free. Also, no non-vegetarian items would be sold there.
The walled city area accommodates around 60 per cent of the city’s population and has narrow lanes surrounding the Sikhs’ holiest shrine. Mostly developed in the 17th and 18th century, it houses the historic Jallianwala Bagh also.
“Amritsar is an important city of Punjab where the Golden Temple, Durgiana Mandir and Ram Tirath temple are situated. The Golden Temple is a place where not only Sikhs, but people from all other religions come to pay obeisance.
“It is visited by devotees from all over the globe. AAP, after coming to power, will accord it holy city status in its true letter and spirit. Alcohol, meat items or tobacco products will be prohibited in the walled city area. Similarly, Anandpur Sahib will also be developed accordingly,” he said.
City Admn: No liquor, but no bar on meat, tobacco around Golden Temple
There are no liquor outlets inside the walled city here that encloses the Golden Temple but the sale of meat, cigarette, and other forms of tobacco is rampant in the area. The area hotels don’t have bar licence but the dhabas and roadside stalls sell the other items forbidden to devout Sikhs. A few liquor shops are along the walled city. Amritsar deputy commissioner Varun Roojam confirmed that liquor sale was banned inside the walled city but the sale of meat, tobacco, and cigarette was on. “We’ll take up the matter with the government,” he said.