The Bacchus lovers are feeling the pinch of a severe shortage of their favourite drink at the liquor shops in Uttarakhand. The beleaguered shop owners are blaming the Government’s liquor policy for the short supply. They say that supplies are short by 75-80 per cent and they are incurring heavy losses, especially as the tourist season is at its peak. An inquiry by this correspondent revealed that most of the popular brands of liquor are off the shelves of the shops. Many alcohol connoisseurs were seen returning from the shops as their favorite brand was not available.
Manish Kumar, a resident of Hathibarkala, said that it is unfortunate that none of the popular brands of whisky and beer is available in the shops and the people are forced to settle for other brands. He claimed that the shop owners are also demanding more money from the customers. The shortage of liquor in licensed shops has also increased the possibility of illegal supplies of liquor.
Under the new policy Fl 2 (Foreign liqour 2) the State Government provisioned that the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) and Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) would store liquor as Sub Fl 2 depots and were 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), popularly called Mandi Samiti, was given the task of stocking the liquor as Super Fl 2 from which the GMVN and KMVN would take supplies. It is learnt that the major liquor manufacturing companies are yet to sort out their modalities with Mandi Samiti which ensured severe shortage of liquor.
Irked by the shortage shop owners are creating a ruckus outside the Government godowns these days. It is learnt that the total consumption of liquor in Dehradun district is about 2200 crates per day but the authorities are able to supply only 500-600 crates. The General Manager of GMVN, R S Rana, told ‘The Pioneer’ that they are not getting enough supplies from the Mandi Samiti so they are not able to provide the required quantity to the retail shop owners.