The Excise Department will close liquor shops across several parts of Kandy for 11 days from Tuesday, August 18, for the duration of the Kandy Esala Perahera.
All liquor outlets within the Kandy Kadawatha Satara and Gangawata Korala Divisional Secretariat divisions will remain shut for the full period, the Daily Mirror reported.
The closure also extends into the neighbouring Kundasale Divisional Secretariat division, covering liquor shops in the Nattharampota Grama Niladhari division up to the fuel station beside the main road.
Timed to the pageant
The restriction takes effect on August 18, the night the first Kumbal Perahera leaves the Sri Dalada Maligawa, and runs until August 28, when the pageant concludes with the final Randoli Perahera and the traditional water-cutting ceremony.
Temporary liquor bans around major religious observances are routine practice for the Excise Department, which applies island-wide closures on Poya days and has ordered similar Kandy-area closures during previous Esala Perahera seasons.
The Daily Mirror report did not say whether licensed hotels and tourist establishments in the affected divisions are exempt from the order.
Police have separately deployed close to 8,000 personnel and set out a security and traffic management plan for the pageant, which runs under state patronage from August 18 to August 28.
