The Hindu : Front Page : Ban on arrack comes into force in State

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Monday, Jul 02, 2007
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Ban on arrack comes into force in State

S. Rajendran

55 cases registered; large quantity of arrack, spirit seized

— Photo: K. Murali Kumar

End of a PROBLEM: An arrack shop in Bangalore was closed after the ban order came into effect in the State.

BANGALORE: The ban order on arrack came into effect at 10 p.m. on Saturday in the State under the watchful eyes of a large number of personnel drawn from the Excise, Police and Revenue departments. Instances of illegal transportation of arrack and illicit liquor in the 27 districts were reported on Sunday even as 55 cases were registered and a large quantity of arrack and rectified spirit seized.

Sources in the Excise Department told The Hindu that the 19 arrack manufacturing units in the State were sealed and so were the over 15,000 arrack shops. Interestingly, there were many cases of people rushing into the arrack shops o n Saturday and having an overdose. Many were admitted to government hospitals in a state of uncons- ciousness, the sources said.

In another development, wine shops selling various brands of Indian made liquor recorded high sales and this was all the more in major towns and cities.

Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, who also holds the Excise portfolio, said that a close watch was being maintained along the State’s border to prevent the flow of arrack and other liquor into the State. Arrack is banned in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh and all the three States have extended their cooperation to Karnataka to go ahead with the ban.

However, the fear in Karnataka is that cheaper versions of liquor apart from arrack and toddy could possibly find its way to the State from Maharashtra and Goa.

Mr. Yediyurappa said that the Government “come what may” would stick to its decision unlike in the past when the ban was lifted with the passage of time. “Over the past year, the Government has been under tremendous pressure from various quarters to refrain from enforcing the ban. It is our political will and we have done it. There is no going back,” he said.

The Government has sought the support of religious heads and Stree Shakti organisations to ensure that the ban was total.

To ensure that the ban on arrack manufacture and sale was strictly adhered to, the Government has cleared a proposal to open 176 exclusive police stations to deal with illicit liquor and arrack manufacture and the running of unauthorised lotteries. A sum of Rs. 60 crore has been granted for the new police stations. As a parallel measure, the Government has launched an awareness campaign against the consumption of illicit liquor in particular.

At Kalghatgi in Dharwad district, over 1.50 lakh sachets of arrack was seized while in Bidar 8,000 litres of rectified spirit, which is used in the manufacture of arrack, was seized. At Vijayanagar in Mysore, the authorities arrested Varghese who was allegedly manufacturing arrack unauthorisedly. Nearly 50,000 litres of arrack was seized at Srirangapatna while similar seizures were made at Channapatna, Nelamangala and Hoskote. The Government has provided 224 vehicles to the Excise Department to keep vigil against arrack manufacture in the Excise ranges of the State.

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