Its better to drink
at home this festive season. With liquor sales likely to increase during
Christmas and New Year, the excise department has decided to curb the
menace of boozing at public places.Special teams comprising
seniors officials have started a special drive to prevent consumption of
alcohol near wine shops, bars, restaurants and dhabas. Anyone found
consuming liquor openly would be fined up to `500 and cases booked
against him. Most wine shops in the city sell eatables and
disposable glasses along with alcohol to customers. Usually most
drinkers consume right outside the wine shop. Even shop owners do not
object to this practice. With the New Year fever, even dhabas which are
barred from serving liquor have decided to cash in on the craze with
offers like ‘buy two beers - get one free’. PV Sunil Kumar,
director, Enforcement wing, Excise and Prohibition told Express the
special teams will visit wine shops, bars, restaurants and dhabas to
check on open liquor consumption. “We have warned all managements to
comply with rules and regulations in supplying liquor to customers. They
have to close their services by 11 pm,’’ he added. They should not sell
liquor in loose pegs or allow customers to drink near their shops,
according to Kumar. Meanwhile, a few dhabas and unauthorised bar and
restaurants located on national highways are attracting customers
offering liquor in various schemes. “With a number of complaints
reaching us, we will initiate thorough checking on highways to prevent
illegal sale of liquor,” he said. “We have bitter experiences while
passing through SR Nagar- Balkampet stretch with a number of drunkards
picking up fights,” complained K Srinivasan, a resident of SR Nagar.
By Mouli Mareedu
moulimareedu@gmail.com
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