The Hindu : 'Excise dept. poorly equipped'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 12, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

'Excise dept. poorly equipped'

Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Nov. 11 Lack of adequate staff and infrastructure facilities had proved to be major impediments for the Excise Department in checking the flow of illicit spirit through 12 check-posts in the district, the V.P. Mohan Kumar Commission probing the liquor tragedy in Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts has been told.

Deposing on behalf of the department before the Commission at its special sitting held here today, the Excise Circle Inspector, N. Basheer, said none of the check-posts in the district, including Amaravila, had adequate staff, vehicles, communication and accommodation facilities and the staff had not been provided arms.

Although the sanctioned posts of Excise guards in the district was 251, as many as 89 posts remained vacant. Of the 26 posts of drivers, only 17 had been posted. The sanctioned 79 posts of Preventive Officers in the district were also inadequate.

Of the personnel, 16 officers were assigned daily duty in 16 courts functioning in the district. Nearly 30 officers appeared in the courts as witnesses daily. When the need for officials for other work was also met, only half of the staff remained for enforcement.

The Commission was told that thrice the existing staff strength was needed for effective enforcement. Many far-flung areas in Neyattinkara and Nedumangad taluk, known for illicit brewing, could be approached only after hours of trekking.

Those proceeding to court were not provided TA by the department. Training facilities were lacking and 75 per cent of the officials were untrained. Smugglers used modern equipment to communicate with their counterparts when the officers conducted surprise checks. The officers had to work round-the-clock for 15 days during the Onam season, but they were not given any weekly off.

At the main check-post of the district at`` Amaravila, a lone officer and four guards could not check the hundreds of vehicles entering the State from Tamil Nadu. Admitting that spirit was flowing into the State, the official said scientific assistance should be provided and sniffer dogs deployed for checking.

The facilities in the department remained the same as in 1967 when the ban on arrack was enforced. The population as well as abkari cases had gone up, but the department had not upgraded the facilities. The officers were not aware of how to handle the abkari case as it had been made a sessions offence now.

Increasing the staff strength, setting up abkari courts to deal exclusively with abkari offences in the district and modernising the department could prevent the recurrence of liquor tragedies, the Commission was told.

The Secretary of the Trivandrum Social Service Society, George Gomez, deposed that the decision on where to locate the liquor shops should be left to the local bodies, especially panchayats. The Government should take steps to check about the quality of toddy being sold through toddy shops.

Benjamin Kokkapalil of the Society for Prevention of Aids and Drug Addiction also testified. The special sitting of the Commission was the fourth for the public to depose before it. Its next sitting would be held in Ernakulam on November 25.

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