Bhubaneswar, Sept 13: The Odisha government on Friday withdrew its proposal to establish beach shacks serving liquor on Puri beach, intended to boost tourism. According to a notification from the Excise Department, no licenses will be granted for operating beach shacks within Puri Municipality and within a 5 km radius of any site of socio-religious or cultural significance. The government will periodically determine which areas fall under this designation.
The decision follows opposition from Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati and protests by various organizations in front of the 12th-century Shree Jagannath Temple. They also submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister through Puri Collector Sidhartha Shankar Swain, urging the immediate withdrawal of the proposal.
The Puri seer argued that setting up beach shacks would undermine the spiritual sanctity of Puri, which is renowned for its spiritual and cultural heritage. He emphasized that the introduction of such commercial ventures would tarnish Jagannath culture and pollute the sacred atmosphere of the seashore, which is traditionally used for Bhajan, Kirtan, and evening Aarti. The Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) had initially invited bids to develop these shacks from Puri to Konark to promote beach tourism.