The Uttarakhand High Court has ordered the state government to impose a ban on liquor and tobacco in Rudraprayag, Chamoli and Uttarkashi districts where the Char Dham shrines are located, ANI reported. The court on Thursday was hearing a petition against a bar that was allegedly running without a licence in Haridwar.

It also ordered complete prohibition of tobacco within a radius of five kilometres from Sikh shrines Reetha Sahib and Hemkund Sahib, ANI reported. A ban on liquor vendors within a radius of one kilometre from educational institutions, hospitals and religious places in the state has also been ordered, The Times of India added.

Besides this, the High Court invoked Bihar’s recent ban on liquor and suggested the state government impose complete prohibition. The bench said, “Complete prohibition on possession, distribution, collection, sale, purchase or consumption of liquor/alcohol, including beer and intoxicants, is required, at least in the districts where Char Dhams are situated to begin with,” The Times of India reported. No one should be found drunk at any public place or should consume liquor in public places, the order added.