Anti-liquor movement still active in Vijayawada

By G. V. Ramana Rao

VIJAYAWADA, JUNE 18. Over five years have passed since the lifting of liquor prohibition. The State government has gradually increased the number of shops and bars saying that revenue is needed for development. It has been liberalising the excise policy in a phased manner each year ringing the death knell of the anti-liquor movement. The ghost of the anti-liquor movement however lingers on in Vijayawada city, mostly propped by activists of the Left parties.

A group of women activists affiliated to the CPI staged a dharna for several days in front of a new liquor shop in One Town. Their contention is that permission has been given for a liquor shop in a residential area.

Activists of the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) caused a disturbance in the last gram sabha of the recent Mahila Janmabhoomi demanding that permission for all new liquor shops and bars be withdrawn. The Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, presiding over the gram sabha, refused to take cognisance of their demands because it was not a problem of a particular village.

Even stray groups and the media have been focussing on problems caused by sale of liquor, highlighting issues like the presence of liquor shops in residential areas, near educational institutions and places of worship. A liquor shop in front of the Telaprolu Bhapanaiah High school, One town, two liquor shops near the Ram temple in Patamata, a liquor shop near a bus-stop in Prakashnagar and a shop in the midst of houses in Wynchipet have all been taken to the notice of excise authorities.

A group of citizens concerned about the busy Madhu chowk have launched a campaign to enlighten the authorities about a liquor shop which is changing the milieu of the centre. The liquor shop in the centre shares the building with a school. Just behind the shop is a hospital and a stone's throw away from it are two more schools. By the side of the shop is a narrow lane, the only way from the bus-stand to the residential colony with several apartment blocks. The group fears that the shop will be converted into a bar.

``For all practical purposes most liquor shops in the city are bars. The poor and the lower middle class purchase liquor by the peg. The shops often have an secret room where the customers quickly gulp their liquor. Some shops which do not have a secret room serve liquor in disposable glasses. The customer takes it to a dark spot on the road and consumes it there,'' says Ms Rajeswari, a member of the group concerned about Madhu Chowk. It is difficult for women to get back home after sunset, group members say.

The residents of Ramavarapadu are on tenterhooks watching progress in construction of a bar in the area by a real-estate mafia leader. They fear that the area would lapse back into the notoriety of the pre-prohibition days.

The strict implementation of liquor shop timings by the local police under the direct supervision of new the Police Commissioner, Mr. N. V. Surendra Babu, has come as a shot in the arm for forces against sale of liquor in residential areas. The Commissioner reportedly sent out teams to record the time up to which liquor shops were open. As per the statute they should close at 10.30 p.m., but shops were doing business openly till 11 p.m. and covertly all through the night. The very next day he ordered his forces to conduct raids and book cases.

The Excise authorities however say that there is no need for people to panic. Permission has been granted only for two new bars in the city. There are only 118 liquor shops in Vijayawada city limits -- one in Patamata and another in Canal Road. There are 481 liquor shops in the district and permission has been granted for the opening of one bar in Machilipatnam and four in Gudivada this year.

The Assistant Excise Superintendent, Mr Prakash Rao, says there are no restrictions for opening of liquor shops in the city. The restrictions with regard to distance from schools, temples and bus-stops are applicable only to municipalities and villages. Action will be taken against anybody who opens shops or bars without permission. The same should be brought to the notice of the Excise Inspector, he said.

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