Students studying in Government Model Higher Primary School, Bajagoli in Karkala taluk in Udupi district of Karnataka spent their time on the day of the Independence Day celebration on Tuesday, August 15, staging a protest in front of their school.
The concern of the students and parents is that the excise department in April 2023 has given CL-7 licence to open a Bar and Restaurant opposite their school. One Harish D Salian, had sought a CL-7 license to serve liquor in the lodge owned by him and obtained it within three months of applying despite strong objection.
Excise department officials who spoke to The New Indian Express claimed that they followed the rules, and measured the distance between the gate of the school and the building where the bar and restaurant is permitted and the distance is 102 meters.
''As per the clause of Karnataka Excise Licences (General Conditions) Rules, 1967, the minimum distance should be 100 metres to give permission, so due process was followed before giving the licence,'' an official added.
But School Development and Monitoring Committee (SDMC) member Vincent D'Souza who protested along with the other parents told The New Indian Express that the aerial distance between the school and the complex where the bar is permitted is not even 40 meters.
''Earlier too when we got an inkling that excise department officials were budging to political pressure, we protested. This Kannada medium school where English is also introduced as a medium of instruction has 239 students from Class I to Class VII. There are 51 students in the LKG and UKG sections. The matter has been brought to the notice of Minister for Women and Child Development Laxmi Hebbalkar, but the fear is still palpable among parents that the liquor lobby will finally overpower the educational interest of kids.
Udupi District Collector Dr Vidyakumari told The New Indian Express that she would verify whether the Nallur Gram Panchayat, where this lodging is located (state highway 37), has followed the procedure of passing the resolution before giving No Objection Certificate (NOC) to the applicant and also that she will move the appeal of the local people, parents to the commissioner of excise department through which they have sought the cancellation of the licence issued.
''Such a power to cancel the license is vested with the Commissioner of Excise Department,'' DC added. Though The New Indian Express tried to contact Minister for School Education and Literacy Madhu Bangarappa, he was not available despite multiple attempts.
