From Our Special Correspondent

Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Nov 19: Chief minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday, November 19, persuaded the State Wine Merchants Association leaders to call off their planned state-wide bandh of liquor shops scheduled for Wednesday.

During a meeting with the office-bearers of the association at his home office, Krishna, on Tuesday, the chief minister assured the wine merchants that the state government would consider their demands sympathetically.

Siddaramaiah also directed the state excise commissioner to ensure that wine merchants and liquor shop owners were not subjected to unnecessary harassment.

He emphasized that wine merchants should be able to enhance their sales and generate income, which in turn would help the state exchequer collect the necessary taxes and resources.

The office-bearers of the Wine Merchants Association, for their part, assured the chief minister that they had not submitted any memorandum concerning the alleged scam in the excise department and indicated that the government could conduct any probe to verify the facts.

The chief minister instructed officials to submit a report on the issues faced by the wine merchants and to propose suitable solutions.

Later, the Karnataka State Forest Industries Corporation presented a cheque for Rs 1.08 crore as a dividend to the chief minister.