Nagpur: District collector Sachin Kurve on Thursday told a delegation of residents from Swawlambi Nagar and other areas demanding closure of a liquor shop that as per law he cannot cancel the shop licence. "I have my jurisdiction and can suspend licence of such establishments only for 30 days," he tod the aggrieved residents.The collector asked the residents to conduct an election in which at least 25% votes should be in favour of closing down the shop if they needed a permanent solution.Almost 30 residents, mostly women, submitted a memorandum to the collector to close down Super Wine shop in Pioneer Society, which they alleged is causing nuisance in their area.TOI on Tuesday had reported about a gang war that took place last week in the area. Earlier, TOI had carried a detailed report highlighting grievances of the residents on May 30.The residents were upset as the meeting with the collector did not yield desired outcome. They told TOI that by asking them to go for voting, the authority is trying to keep the shop running.The residents are now planning to meet chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, in whose Southwest Nagpur constituency the area falls, and guardian minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, to raise their demand."The wine shop licence must have been allotted in 1990s. The licence must have been transferred from one place to another. While granting permission to the shop, the then authority must have only seen if it is an authorized construction. In the last two years, I have ensured that commercial shops are not allotted in residential areas," Kurve told the residents.Despite many complaints, the authorities have failed to take any action, the residents claimed. They alleged that the shop sells liquor even on dry days. "The shop owner is tipped off by some officials to stop liquor sell if a raid is planned," they added.The residents fear venturing out of their houses as drunkards make a beeline in front of the shop. Women have to face lewd comments and harassment by drunkards. "It looks like no one is ready to help us and we are on our own," said one of the residents.Mayor Nanda Jichkar is one of the four corporators of the area with Dilip Dive, Sonali Kadu and Pramod Tabhane being the other three.

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