BENGALURU: The
flow of booze seems to be at an all-time high this election season — a record 5.2 lakh litres of liquor were seized in a month after the May 12 assembly poll schedule was announced.
The flying squads of the
Election Commission (EC) confiscated liquor stored by supporters of candidates in places like paying guest (PG) accommodations, working men and women’s hostels and deserted buildings. It included a large quantity of non-duty paid (NDP) and illicitly distilled (ID) liquor, say officials.
“A few instances of liquor stored in PGs and hostels have been reported. People must be cautious about booze being distributed by politicians as it may contain NDP or ID which will cause health issues,” said joint excise commissioner
Rajendra Prasad.
Till May 7, 5,18,8059 lakh litres worth Rs 24.04 crore were seized. Of that, the excise department’s seizure includes 3.17 lakh litres. During the 2013 assembly elections, 67,953 litres of liquor were seized.
People may alert the department (9449597218, 9980847456) if they find such illegalities, stated a communique issued by the excise department’s Basavanagudi zone.
Officials said they found a large quantity of ‘not-for-sale’ liquor being illegally transported from Goa into the state and that is apart from NDP and ID liquor. The department has suspended 893 liquor-vending licences on charges of various violations.
Rajendra Prasad said suspension of 370 licences has been revoked, based on explanations given by vendors. Liquor traders, however, complain about the ‘excesses’ of enforcement authorities. “Officials are confiscating the entire stock being transferred or stored for mislabelling of one or two bottles,” alleged Shivalingaiah, secretary-general, Karnataka Breweries and Distillers Association.
While many retail vendors want to close their outlets till the polls are over to escape “harassment”, their grouse is they cannot do it on their own; the closure needs prior permission from the excise department.
G Vanagiri Gowda, president of the
Karnataka Wine Merchants Association, said hundreds of retailers have sought permission to close their shops, but received no response so far.
Sanjiv Kumar, chief electoral officer, said: “The seizure is the result of efficient enforcement of poll norms and good coordination among departments. Nonetheless, we want to ensure the legitimate liquor trade is unhampered. We have instructed excise officials just to stick to monitoring the code of conduct.”
