The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Spirit sale rampant in three districts

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 31, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Spirit sale rampant in three districts

G. Anand

Most of the shops are run by persons accused in spirit smuggling cases

Sale widespread in Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta and Kollam
Special Excise team to conduct surprise checks

Thiruvananthapuram: The sale of artificial toddy mixed with spirit and other noxious substances is widespread in Pathanamthitta, Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts, according to Excise officials.

Most of the toddy shops in these regions are run in the name of others by persons accused in major spirit smuggling cases.

The licensees are often just name lenders who hail from the lower strata of society. At least in one proven instance in Kollam, the licensee of a toddy shop turned out to be a 74-year-old woman. A man had died on Tuesday, a dry day, after consuming excess quantity of alcohol from the outlet.

The majority of toddy shops in Thiruvananthapuram district are operated by a Pravachambalam-based spirit smuggling group. A similar gang operates in Pathanamthitta district, which is “notorious” for the sale of spirit through toddy shops, official sources said. In Pathanamthitta, a special “internal audit” team has been set up under the Excise Deputy Commissioner (Intelligence) for conducting surprise inspections in toddy shops.

The team will operate independent of local enforcers. It will focus on busting clandestine artificial toddy-making units. It is suspected that certain corrupt Excise officials in the district are hand-in-glove with the spirit mafia.

Official sources said that Excise inspections of toddy shops in the three districts had become predictable, thus emboldening the spirit mafia to openly retail contraband arrack sourced from distilleries from other States.

Inland waterways, sea routes and rail networks are being used to smuggle spirit in large quantities into the State. Recently, Excise enforcers at Palakkad found spirit hidden under a consignment of artificial eggs fashioned out of plaster of Paris.

Fishing boats and country crafts are used to smuggle spirit and liquor from Goa and Mahe. The department has no capability to intercept such crafts. The Government will form “anti-alcoholic clubs” with the help of students, residents’ associations, parent-teacher associations and Kudumbasree volunteers to step up public vigilance against the sale of illicit liquor.

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