JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Licensed liquor shops across Sri Lanka’s Northern Province will close on Sunday for Deepavali on the orders of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the provincial governor’s office said.
The closure covers liquor bars and retail outlets in all five of the province’s districts: Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Mannar and Vavuniya. Establishments approved by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and hotels holding special star-class liquor licenses are exempt.
Hindu religious organizations and leaders had asked the governor, N. Vethanayahan, to have liquor outlets closed for the festival. Mr. Vethanayahan then wrote to the president asking for the closure.
The Commissioner General of Excise informed the province’s district secretaries of the president’s decision in a letter dated Nov. 6, according to the governor’s office.
This is the second year in a row that the North’s liquor shops will close for Deepavali. A similar closure was ordered for the festival on Oct. 20, 2025, also at Mr. Vethanayahan’s request.
Sri Lanka shuts liquor outlets nationwide on Poya, the monthly Buddhist full-moon holiday. Closures for Hindu festivals are ordered region by region. In January 2024, shops in the Northern Province and in the Badulla and Nuwara Eliya districts closed for Thai Pongal.
Deepavali, the Hindu festival of lights, is a public holiday in Sri Lanka and one of the main religious occasions for the country’s Tamil Hindus. Hindus make up most of the Northern Province’s population.
Mr. Vethanayahan thanked the president and the Excise Department for acting on the request.
