INDIA VOTES 2024: Enhanced surveillance to curb movement of liquor in Mohali

Mohali, March 20

To curb the illegal flow of liquor during the General Election, the District Electoral Officer Aashika Jain ordered enhanced surveillance of the movement of liquor in the district.

The DEO presided over a meeting with owners and managers of distilleries, bottling plants and marriage halls at the District Administrative Complex. Addressing the gathering, she said that laxity would not be tolerated at any level, adding that stringent action would be taken against violators.

No liquor without Excise department permit

DEO Aashika Jain instructed marriage hall owners to not allow any political gathering without the approval of the Assistant Returning Officer concerned. She said no liquor would be served without a legitimate permit from the Excise Department during marriages and other social gatherings.

She emphasised the strict implementation of enforcement mechanisms on the movement of liquor from two distilleries, one brewery and 13 bottling plants, besides monitoring the sale of 299 liquor vends. She said the District Administration was committed to holding free, fair and transparent elections, adding that any case of allurement, such as a supply of liquor, drugs, or bribery, would not be tolerated.

She said the officials of the Excise Department would be responsible for curbing the illegal movement of liquor in the district by keeping vigil and setting up nakas in collaboration with the district police.

Terming the currently installed mass flow meters in all manufacturing units capturing the real-time flow of spirit and CCTV camera vigil besides carrying QR-code enabled passes (L-34) and permits (L-32), she made it mandatory to keep displaying valid licenses and locations for all the 299 vends. She also asked the Excise Officials to check the daily sales and stock of the liquor vends. She directed the officials to screen all records immediately in case the sale of a vend increases by over 30 per cent.

The DEO instructed marriage hall owners to not allow any political gathering without the approval of the concerned Assistant Returning Officer. She said no liquor would be served without a legitimate permit from the Excise Department during marriages and other social gatherings.

Assistant Commissioner, Excise, Ashok Chalotra, told the DEO that enforcement was being carried out by four teams in the district at a time, in addition to joint checking with police at stationary makes. He said there would be one excise check team per constituency, comprising an ETO, an Inspector and police staff. Chalotra said a list of vends falling within a 3 km radius of Punjab’s border towards Chandigarh and Haryana has been shared with these authorities concerned, and they were requested to close these vends before 48 hours of polling in Punjab.

Other licensees, such as bars, hotels and marriage halls, have also been sensitised about their role during the model code of conduct. Chalotra said their stock and supply were being regulated through a system of permits and passes, adding that these were being checked by the department on a regular basis. He said other sensitive places, such as roadside dhabas and petrol pumps, among others, were being checked regularly by excise teams and the police.