Patiala, February 7: 
In a state where liquor vends are opened even before grocery stores and where 29 crore liquor bottles are consumed annually, residents of 140 villages from various districts, including 43 in Sangrur and 26 in Patiala, have submitted applications to the authorities concerned pleading that the vends in their areas be closed.
Last year, the number of such requests was 89. Bollywood star Aamir Khan on his show ‘Satyamev Jayate’ had talked of 45 village panchayats opposing liquor vends. He had held a tele-conference with one such panchayat. Officials of the Punjab Excise and Taxation Department (PETD) are now to decide whether or not these villages will be “alcohol-free”.
“A decision on the matter will soon be taken by the Excise and Taxation Commissioner, depending on certain clearances,” said Neelam Choudhary, joint Excise and Tax Commissioner, Patiala.
During the fiscal year 2012-13, vends in 30 villages were shut down. In 27 other villages, these were shifted out. The applications of 32 panchayats were rejected.
For this fiscal year (2013-14), as many as 14 villages in Barnala district, 13 in Hoshiarpur,10 in Gurdaspur, six in Faridkot, two in Bathinda, four each in Ferozepur, Moga and Fatehgarh Sahib, three in Jalandhar and one each in Nawanshahr, Ropar, Ludhiana, Mohali, Mansa and Amritsar districts have sought the closure of liquor vends.
"To apply for such a ban, a gram panchayat needs to approve a resolution between April 1 and September 30. After that, the Excise and Taxation Officer concerned inspects the village police records and ensures that liquor is not sold illegally in that area,” said a senior officer.
On a high
* Liquor consumption in the state has gone up
* The state had 7,256 liquor vends in 2011
* This number was 5,652 in 2005-06
* Punjab has over 5,064 PML vends; 2,192 IMFL vends
* From eight distilleries in 2005-06, it now has 11
* The number of bottling plants has gone up to 21
* The state has two brewery units
* Punjab ,with a population a little less than 3 crore, will be consuming about 29 crore liquor bottles this fiscal