Wednesday, 04 SEPTEMBER 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
Taking a stern note of the complaints of overrating and other irregularities in the liquor shops of the State, the chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami directed the Excise department to discharge its responsibilities properly. Following the CM’s order the Excise department swung into action on Tuesday and carried out raids in the liquor shops in all parts of the State in association with the local administration. The action by the Excise department comes in the aftermath of an attack on a journalist in Rishikesh town allegedly by those involved in illicit liquor trade.
As per the reports, more than 100 liquor shops were raided by the department. The raids sent shockwaves among the liquor shop owners. The teams of the Excise department officers conducted raids in Almora, Dehradun, Pithoragarh, Nainital, Bageshwar, Udham Singh Nagar, Champawat, Haridwar, Tehri, Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag and Pauri districts. The CM has reportedly directed the department to cease operation of the shops where the complaints of overrating are found to be correct and where there is a mismatch between inventory and stock register. He has also directed the department to conduct regular campaigns to check overrating and take stern action on those involved in liquor smuggling.
It is pertinent to mention here that liquor is a major source of revenue for the State government. However, overrating along with bottling of spurious liquor passed off as branded products is a common occurrence in the State, considering the illicit operations busted by the authorities so far. The authorities conduct raids periodically to check overrating but in most cases, the violations resume on the next day if not hours after the raids. It remains to be seen whether the latest action taken by the authorities has the desired effect.
