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Surabaya bans alcohol in minimarts
Despite the lingering controversy, the Surabaya Legislative Council (DPRD) passed on Monday a bylaw restricting the sale of alcoholic beverages containing more than 0
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espite the lingering controversy, the Surabaya Legislative Council (DPRD) passed on Monday a bylaw restricting the sale of alcoholic beverages containing more than 0.5 percent alcohol at supermarkets and minimarts.
Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini, commonly known as Risma, said the enactment of the bylaw meant that beverages with a high alcoholic content could not be sold freely in Surabaya city. The bylaw is expected to save the younger generation from the dangers of alcohol.
"The bylaw will help control the distribution of alcoholic drinks. I'm ready to remove alcoholic drinks [from the shelves] myself. But I will deploy law and order officers to do that," Risma told reporters in Surabaya on Monday.
The chairman of the DPRD's special committee for the bylaw, Blegur Prijanggono, said previously that the bylaw had been endorsed and would be implemented by the end of May.
'We will give supermarkets and minimarkets three months to remove all the products containing more than 0.5 percent alcohol from their shelves,' Blegur said.
"The bylaw is necessary considering that several people have died after drinking oplosan [bootleg liquor],' Blegur said.
In January, 14 people died and 11 others were taken to hospital due to alcohol poisoning after consuming oplosan in Surabaya. In addition, a study conducted by the National Movement Against Alcoholic Beverages found an average of 18,000 deaths annually caused by oplosan consumption.
Under the bylaw, according to Blegur, only a handful of star-rated hotels, nightclubs and bars would be permitted to sell alcohol in Surabaya.
As such, he said, foreign tourists visiting Surabaya could relax safe in the knowledge that the drinks they were consuming were safe.
'This way, we won't see cases of foreign tourists dying here due to consuming oplosan, as has happened in Lombok,' he said. (hhr)
