India, Aug. 2 -- The excise department on Saturday conducted surprise inspections at liquor shops and bars across Gautam Budh Nagar, directing them to strictly comply with operational norms, including screening liquor outlets along the Kanwar Yatra route with curtains and maintaining real-time CCTV surveillance.

The inspections were conducted on the directions of the Uttar Pradesh excise commissioner Adarsh Singh, with excise inspectors fanning out across the district as part of a special enforcement drive.

Teams inspected country liquor shops, composite liquor outlets, model shops, premium retail shops and bars to verify compliance with provisions of the Excise Act and departmental guidelines.

"The objective of the drive was to verify...