The State Excise Department has initiated a stringent drive against illegally manufactured illicit country-made liquor in the city. Sources informed that the department kicked off the drive in order to check the substantial revenue loss to the State exchequer. The excise department team on Friday destroyed three distilleries at Parsudih and Baghbera area. As the teams approached the spots, the persons involved with breweries and liquor consumers started running to shelters.
During the raids, the Excise officials confiscated liquor manufacturing equipment and materials, and destroyed over 5,000 litres of unaccounted country-made liquor. Sources said that the department had received a tip-off that unlicensed liquor shops were being run. The department undertook the drive with the view to bust the rackets which are engaged in selling fake liquors undermining the trade of the genuine tax-paying companies.
According to sources Excise department destroyed the confiscated liquor near the place of raid because the department had not adequate number of vehicles to carry the seized liquor. Revealing about the raid, assistant commissioner, Jharkhand Excise, Rakesh Kumar said that the step to dislodge the illegal distilleries existing in the suburban areas, so that the people will tend to stop taking country-made liquor and instead they would tend to consume the Indian made foreign liquor (IMFl).
"We have been taking drives throughout the year to keep illegal liquor business under control. In a bid to ensure that liquor from other States is not smuggled into our jurisdiction, random drives are conducted at the entry point of district boundaries continuously," he noted.
Country-made liquor are manufactured in large quantity at Baghbera, Matladih, Birsanagar, Govindpur, all in the city suburban. Kumar, while elaborating on revenue aspect of the special drive said that the sale of liquor is on the rise in the steel city. He said when the liquor sale is rising, then the Excise department will try to ensure that the people may consume the legitimate liquor only. Another official noted that illicit liquor is a hugely profitable industry where bootleggers pay no taxes and sell enormous quantities of their product. He said that there is a need to restrict extensive abuse of the intoxicant in order to reduce untoward incidents . He also sought cooperation from all sections of the society to reduce and restrict abuse of liquor.