Jamshedpur : The Excise Department has embarked on raids and vehicle checking to control the sale of spurious liquor during the New Year festival season. Senior officials of the department said that checks on manufacturing and sale areas of bars, and shops selling foreign liquor would be intensified in the coming days.
The Jamshedpur Excise Department�s 25-member task-force has been divided into four groups and will be collaborate with the traffic police to keep youths indulging in rash driving, stunt driving and revelery under influence of liquor at bay.
�We want to ensure a peaceful New Year and have made elaborate arrangements for the same. Youths going on the road on suspicion will have to undergo breathalyzer test and if caught driving under influence of alcohol will be fined Rs 1000. We would be focusing on illegal consumption of liquor while the traffic police personnel will be checking into traffic norms violations,� said assistant commissioner excise department Jamshedpur, Rakesh Kumar.
Police officials said NH 33 would also be under the watch of the patrolling teams of the department. Strict action would be taken by joint teams of the police and Excise in cases of offence such as manufacture, sale of illegal liquor, consumption of alcohol in public places, and unlicensed wine making.
This apart, IMFL liquor outlets have been asked to shut down their units after 10 pm on December 31. Traffic police will be conducting special drive on December 31 night and January 1 morning against use of dark glasses in four wheelers and triple ride on bikes.
At Jamshedpur there are 98 Indian Make Foreign Liquor (IMFL) licensed shops, 51 country-made liqour shop and 15 spicy liquor shops.
Traffic DSP Rakesh Mohan Sinha said that police department is prepared to render all its support to the excise department in this issue.
Meanwhile sale of liquor soared across the city since early on Tuesday as tipplers rushed to stock up for the New Year. Even on the occasion of dry day the sale of liquor immense. All varieties of liquor, including brandy, whiskey, rum and gin, came for a premium at outlets of the city.
“During New Year sale of liquor from the retail shops goes up manifold. It has been seen from the records that just during 48 hours before the festival, the liquor shop owners sell stuff worth over Rs 5 crores, which is during ordinary time hardly cross the Rs 1 crore within the same period of time. Taking advantage of the craze for liqour among the people, some unscrupulous shop-owners tend to sell duplicate liquor,” said an official.