Hyderabad: The excise department has arrested 3,818 persons and has registered 6,893 cases in a massive crackdown against the ID-liquor mafia in Telangana.
Senior officials said they have launched a “multidisciplinary approach” in coordnation with departments like the police, revenue and collectorates in order to curb ID liquor sale. So far, 3,738 villages have been declared ID liquor-free as residents have taken a pledge not to consume the stuff again.
Apart from these arrests, 2,789 people were taken into preventive custody this year. Excise officials have also identified raw material suppliers, manufacturers, transporters and sellers of ID liquor, and has created a database with their photos. Details of the offenders are also put on notice boards at all excise stations in Telangana.
Excise chief Akun Sabarwal said the crackdown alone would not clean up villages. “A larger socio-economic action through collaboration of the revenue, police, and excise departments is needed. Meetings are conducted at the district-level where the collector, SP and tehsil-level representatives of these three wings chalk out strategy,” he said. The excise department is also trying to turn villages “green” by conducting meetings with sarpanches and encouraging villagers to take a pledge not to go back to the illegal brew. The sleuths identified villages that have suffered seriously from ID liquor for undertaking awareness campaigns, officials said.
Other activities taken up to eradicate ID liquor are village meetings, kala brindam and rallies. The revenue-police-excise departments jointly conduct village-level meetings in areas where large quantities of ID liquor are sold. The villagers are told about the ill-effects of ID liquor and asked to give up the habit. Kala Brindam cultural troupes of 5 to 6 members visit villages and educate residents through art forms about the ill effects of ID liquor. Nasha Virodh rallies are being conducted in villages to raise awareness. Meanwhile, senior officials said more gangs are smuggling deadly chemicals to mix in toddy.
