Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (MD)

Mangaluru, May 5: Dakshina Kannada district stands third in the state in terms of collection of excise revenue and sale of liquor, after Bengaluru Urban and Bengaluru Rural, said George Pinto, deputy commissioner of excise, Dakshina Kannada, adding, "Mangaluru culture is different from other places."

Addressing a press meet at the excise deparment office in Mary Hill here on Tuesday May 5, George Pinto briefed on the annual report of the department in the year 2014-15, and said, "There are five taluks in Dakshina Kannada district and four sub-divisional offices, and 10 sectors are operating out of these. Two sub-divisional offices are in Mangaluru and the other two are situated in Bantwal and Puttur," he said.

"In 2009, the Karnataka government released the 'Karnataka Excise Manual' book for the excise department where its work, responsibilities, rules and regulations are briefly explained. In every sector, we have selected various routes and we have kept point books for the excise officials to collect the details illegal sale of liquor and keep a tab on the old convicts. At present our district has 68 routes and in these routes 420 point books are kept. In the 2014-15 year, the officials have patrolled 1,242 times and 6,772 times they have written remarks," he added.

Gram Sabha

"The excise department has not only collected revenue, but also joined hands with the society. The department has conducted 182 gram sabha meetings in 2014-15. We have been spreading awareness among the people regarding the side effects of consuming spurious liquor and instructing people to buy liquor from licensed outlets only. In case anybody is found bootlegging, the general public should inform us," Pinto said.

Road Patrolling

George Pinto further said, "Excise department officials are assigned for road patrolling to prevent transporting or selling of inter-state liqours especially from Goa. In the year 2014-15 we stopped 34,653 suspicious vehicles.

"There are 153 retail liquor stores (CL2), 215 bars (CL9), 41 lodging and boardings (CL7), 4 clubs, 11 government stores run by MSIL organisation with CL11 licence and various other licensed stores in Dakshina Kannada district. As many as 5,948 licences were inspected in 2014-15," he said.

Alcohol sales target

Speaking about liquor sale in the district, George Pinto said, "Sale of liqour has played a major role in the revenue collection of the department. In 2014-15, the excise department was supposed to sell 28,50,000 boxes of liquor.

"Dakshina Kannada district sold 25,80,222 boxes of liqour in 2014-15 year and when compared to the sale of liqour in 2013-14 year, this time there is an increase of 7 percent. As many as 17,26,636 boxes of beer were sold and from this, Rs 973 crores has been collected towards the government treasury," he informed.

"When we inspected the sale of liquor in the city region, we found that 48% of liqour was sold out of 67% of liquor stores, and 52% of liquor was sold in 33% of stores in rural areas. In rural areas low-priced liquors are in high demand while in city, it is the high-priced liqours that are in demand," he added.

Crime Survey

"In district two-thirds of the excise constable and head constable posts are vacant but still, illegal sale/transportation/storing of liqour are caught and a total of 14 serious lawsuits have been filed. As many as 441 cases have been registered against liquor license holders for breach of licence terms. We have collected a fine of Rs 63,08,750 so far from such cases," he said.

"When arrack was popular, each village had two arrack shops. After the ban on the arrack, now there is one liquor store for 10 villages and the locals are taking advantage by selling liquor in their petty shops and meat stalls. This has come to the notice of excise department and in 2014-15, 255 cases were registered and Rs 6,82,500 collected as fine. We have also produced a few of them in the court.

"Overall we have collected Rs 69,91,250 as fine, which is an increase of 98% as compared to 2013-14," he added.

Eradication of arrack centres:

"Currently, the district does not have any arrack centre operating. However, there are a few arrack shops situated in suspicious areas. We have kept an eye on those areas," he said.

Regaring recovery of old outstanding dues he said, "There was a meeting with the deputy commissioner and the government, and a committee was formed to discuss old outstanding dues and collect them. As per the guidance from the government, the committee has so far collected Rs 25,00,000 from the 9 cases. These outstanding dues were pending from arrack contractors since long. These were the unrecoverable old arrears which were recovered by us in 2014-15.

"We also have the power to arrest ganja and drug peddlers. Media and the general public must join hands with us to catch these people. I have completed one year of my term in Mangaluru and when I was in Udupi I had seized heroin worth Rs 1.5 crore. During my three years of tenure in Udupi, many incidents came to light. Even here I am going to catch such culprits. I need some more time," he added.

Speaking about the one-day licences given to social functions, George Pinto said, "We are giving one-day licenxes to all functions. To prevent violation of Section 15A, we have made it mandatory to get licence. We are giving CL5 license at Rs 11,500. We will give the licence within two days of applying. It is totally a single window system. Consumption of liquor in public palces is strictly prohibited. Licences are provided to distribute liquor in function halls. One needs to keep the bill to have excess amount of liquor in one's house or while travelling. But you do not need a licence for functions happening in your house as it is a private place."

Excise officials Krishna Prasad and Shiva Prasad were present on this occaison.