The spell of dry days for alcohol lovers continue with many shop owners preferring to close their counters in the absence of the supplies of liquor. The plight of India Made Foreign liquor (IMFl) contractors, however, has become a blessing of sorts for the bootleggers and shops of country liquor.
The liquor contractors who celebrated when licences were issued to them recently are banging their heads in disgust as new liquor policy is causing them huge financial losses. To add to their woes they are facing such situation at the time when tourist season is at its peak.
It is learnt that the average daily consumption of liquor in Dehradun and Haridwar districts is 20 truck loads but only eight trucks are arriving daily these days due to which the situation of shortage is created. In absence of IMFl, the diehard Bacchus are forced to buy country liquor. One of a salesman at a counter of country liquor shop said that the sale of country liquor had doubled in last few days. It is learnt that the illegal suppliers of booze have become active in absence of regular supplies of liquor.
Under the new policy Fl 2 (Foreign liqour 2) the State Government made Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) and Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) as Sub Fl 2 depots, entrusted with the task of supplying liquor to the licensed shop owners in Garhwal and Kumaon divisions respectively. The Uttarakhand Agriculture Production Marketing Committee (UAPMC) was made Super Fl 2 from which the GMVN and KMVN would take supplies.
The president of UAPMC Ravindra Singh told The Pioneer that the problem would be sorted out in a week’s time. He said that the problem occurred as the modalities of agreement between major liquor manufacturing companies and UAPMC are yet to be formalised.