Act against illegal liquor vends in eco-sensitive zone near Asola Bhatti sanctuary: Delhi to Haryana

The Delhi forest department has written to the Haryana administration, asking it to identify and act against liquor vends operating illegally in the eco-sensitive zone near the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary in the neighboring state.

A Delhi forest official said smugglers bring down small portions of the sanctuary's boundary wall and use a shortcut to deliver liquor from Haryana to Delhi on foot or motorcycles.

''We have written a letter to the Haryana chief wildlife warden and the Faridabad district administration, asking them to identify liquor vends operating illegally near the eco-sensitive zone and take stern action,'' the official said.

In 2019, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change had declared the area around the boundary of Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary in Gurgaon and Faridabad an Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ), prohibiting activities such as commercial mining, setting up of industries, and establishment of major hydro-electric projects.

The villages included in the eco-sensitive zone are Lakadpur (Surajkund), Pali, Mangar, Bandhwari, Gual Pahari, Balola, Gothra (Mohtabad), Badkhal, Ankhir, Mewla Mahrajpur, and Anangpur.

''These liquor vends are operating on forest land in Haryana. Illegal construction activity and liquor sales are two major issues in that area. The neighboring state will have to take stern action else this will continue to affect the wildlife in the sanctuary,'' the official said.

Most of the time, the smuggling happens in the early hours, and the smugglers carry knives and sickles, another official said.

Country liquor is manufactured at a place adjacent to the wildlife sanctuary in Anangpur village in Faridabad. The smugglers carry this alcohol to Sangam Vihar, which does not have a liquor store of its own, he said.

''It's a distance of just three kilometers from one end to the other. These smugglers break down the boundary wall and use this shorter route to avoid police. They have been caught on our camera traps too,'' the official said.

This is a law and order situation, and unless action is taken at the source, liquor smuggling will continue, he added.

The wildlife sanctuary covering a 32.71 sq km area on the Southern Delhi Ridge of the Aravalli hill range along the Delhi-Haryana border lies in southern Delhi and northern parts of Faridabad and Gurgaon districts of Haryana.

It is part of the Northern Aravalli leopard wildlife corridor, which extends from the Sariska National Park in Rajasthan to Delhi Ridge. 

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)