Southern States - Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram   

Illicit liquor flooding rural market

By G. Anand

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Nov. 11. Illicit liquor of dubious quality is being sold in the domestic market disguised mainly as cheap Indian Made Foriegn Liquor (IMFL), even as the Kerala State Beverages Corporation was contemplating to open more retail outlets in the State to check the trend.

Police sources said the sale of cheap and duplicate IMFL was more rampant in the rural and suburban areas of the district.

The non-availability of IMFL at cheap rates was the main cause for the profusion of duplicate IMFL flooding the rural market, police said. "The IMFL retail outlets are spread thin and far. Hence many, particularly those from the labour class prefer to opt for the easier bargain of buying diluted illicit spirit or duplicate liquor that is sold on the sly at every nook and cranny, particularly in the suburban areas,'' an official pointed out. With the Police Department intensifying the crackdown on hooch distillation, consumers looking for a cheap and quick high have shifted to spurious liquor products fabricated out of illicit spirit smuggled across the border.

Police sources said they had little clue from where the illicit spirit was being converted into duplicate IMFL by adding colour and flavour. "However, there have been several small and large seizures of 175 ml bottles labelled as brandy, whisky and rum. Most of the brands printed on the labels are not known in Kerala. Some of the bottles also have fake seals of the Tamil Nadu Excise Department," an official said.

With photocopying and latest printing technology being easily available, racketeers thriving on the illicit liquor trade can easily fabricate liquor labels and Excise Department seals. Discarded and second hand IMFL bottles are refilled with liquor of dubious quality and sold as original ones, it was pointed out. Moreover, the sale of illicit liquor was clandestine and its clientele very high that the police were finding it difficult to effect a total clampdown. An official said that the illicit spirit and liquor trade was a source of income for hundreds of un-employed people and their families.

"This makes it difficult for us to garner accurate information on the clandestine trade and those involved in it.''

The Excise Department and police officials aver that the best way to check the rampant sale of illicit spirit would be for the Government to ensure steady availability of genuine liquor and at moderate prices.

Enforcement officials had also raised concern about clandestine sale of Ayurvedic medicinal preparations such as "Arishtas'' and "Asavas'' laced with spirit and other intoxicants. According to police and Excise sources, several licensed as well as illegal outlets for Ayurvedic medicines double as retail outlets for alcohol, which is sold as Ayurvedic "medicinal preperations''.

Official sources pointed out that Zingiberries, a veterinary medicine made from ginger extract and spirit, was a hot favourite among a section of tipplers who prefer it to IMFL.

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