Kerala has always witnessed its festivals, especially Onam and Christmas, getting soaked in booze but revelers are a bit disappointed about this year’s Onam, the main day of which, Thiruvonam, falls on Friday, as bars are lying closed and the only way to buy booze is to wait in the serpentine queues at the overcrowded retail liquor shops.
Police are apprehensive of the possibility of law and order problems when boozers, who till recently had hundreds of bars to approach for liquor, throng the retail outlets in uncontrollably large numbers. Indications of this were seen on Thursday itself — the Uthradam day — and many retail outlets have sought police help for meeting customers’ rush during the fest.
Police and Excise departments have stepped up their vigil at the State’s various border check-posts in the context of reports of smuggling of illicit spirit from other States by the liquor mafia determined to cash in on the situation. Intelligence reports say that thousands of litres of illicit spirit have already reached the liquor mafias’ secret warehouses in the State.
The Intelligence wing of the Kerala Police has submitted a report to the Home Department pointing out the possibility of a liquor tragedy happening in the State in the coming days considering the large-scale inflow of illicit liquor. It has also pointed out that this flow has been continuing despite the steps being taken by the police and Excise departments.
Apart from the large-scale flow of illicit liquor, the closure of bars has led to an unprecedented rise in drug abuse and it is feared that this could also present a big problem during on the Onam days. According to the Government’s own admission, there has been a three-fold increase in the abuse of drugs and psychotropic substances since the closure of bars on April 1 last.
The two main Onam days, Uthradam and Thiruvonam, account for the briskest liquor sales in the State every year. liquor worth Rs92 crore was sold on these two days last year when 418 of the total 730 bars in the State were lying closed. Every Onam in Kerala used to see an increase by about 25 percent in the liquor sale over that of the season in the previous year.
“Retail liquor outlets are overcrowded with customers even on ordinary days. It is only normal that the rush has increased manifold today (the Uthradam day). It is certain that a minimum of 25 percent of these customers won’t get their bottles today. It would have been far better if the bars were open,” said the manager of a retail outlet in Thrissur on Thursday evening.
“There will be no drop in liquor sales or consumption because of the bar closure but it is indeed posing hardships for drinkers. They are now forced to stand in the queues for several hours to buy some liquor as they are denied the chance to have some pegs in bars with peace of mind,” protested Mohan Nair, a banker waiting for his turn at a retail shop in Kochi.
All bars in Kerala, except those at the five-star hotels, were closed down on April 1 last as per the State Government’s new liquor policy which envisaged implementation of Prohibition within ten years. As a result, liquor is currently available only at the 300-odd retail shops and the 24 five-star hotels.
Almost all the 730 bars that operated prior to April 1, 2014, have now been turned into wine and beer parlours but the fact is that in a State, where rum is still the most preferred drink, these parlours can never be substitutes for bars.
Though the Government is claiming that there has been an 18-per cent drop in the sale and consumption of hard liquor since the closure of bars on April 1 last, figures available with the Kerala State Beverages Corporation, the State-owned monopoly liquor-distribution company, the revenue from liquor sales had seen a 14-per cent increase.