Imphal, May 08 2009: Acknowledging that there has been no discouragement among the drinkers who even resorted to consumption of spurious and substandard alcoholic spirits in Manipur inspite of prohibition, officials of the State Excise Department are mulling over joining hands with social organisations like AMADA and CADA in enforcing prohibition.

Talking to mediapersons on the sideline of destroying around 300 litres of locally brew liquor that had been seized by Excise personnel from a Maruti car in front of the Excise Station at Sekmai on April 28 last at the office complex of the Excise Department at Lamphelpat here today, the officials informed that after Manipur was declared a dry State, a sum of around Rs 30 to 40 lakhs per month is being accrued to the Department as revenue from Paramilitary forces, MR and IRB.

However, inspite of the prohibition, alcoholic consumption in the State has not come down so much so as there is even taker for the spurious and sub-standard liquor.

Though the Department has been given the target of collecting revenue to the tune of Rs 2 lakhs every month from taking up necessary action against those who defy the prohibition, The Department has been facing a serious difficulty in carrying out its duties with only two vehicles of its own, the officials lamented, adding that the proposal for inducting three more vehicles have also been turned down on alleged ground of not collecting the targeted revenue amount.

Issuing arms to Excise personnel as in like States of the country may also help them in carrying out their duties more effectively, the officials hoped, while recalling the incident of beating up two SIs of the Excise Department by some armed persons when they raided a drinking joint at Haobam Marak recently.

Out of the existing 39 Excise Stations of the Department, 20 are being operated from rented rooms spending Rs 21,000 every month on payment of rent.

Stating that Police and Assam Rifles have been handing over their seizures to AMADA or CADA and not to the Excise when they seized liquor, the officials disclosed that talks have been already started with these two social organisations to join hands in enforcing prohibition in the State.

As part of this collaborative efforts, the Excise Department henceforth start highlighting the achievement of the two social organisations to the public as well.

The consignment of locally brew liquor which was destroyed today reportedly belonged to one woman bootlegger identified as Thokchom Kumudini of Sekmai Awang Leikai.

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