Officials told to check liquor smuggling from Kathua to Himachal

Our Correspondent

Jammu, September 25

As the elections in Himachal are due later this year, excise and police officials of J&K are holding regular meetings with their counterparts from the neighbouring state to stop liquor smuggling.

J&K and Himachal share border in Kathua, Doda and Kishtwar districts. As the routes from Doda and Kishtwar districts will be closed due to snow on higher reaches during Himachal elections, the focus is on Kathua.

Excise Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Sharma has nominated Kathua Excise and Taxation Officer (ETO) Virender Kumar as the nodal officer to keep a check on liquor smuggling.

The Deputy Commissioner of Chamba had recently called a meeting in which officials from the administration and the police from Kathua were invited to discuss the election preparation. Also a meeting of excise officials was held in Chamba in which officials decided to set up joint checkpoints and ensure patrolling ahead of elections to stop the smuggling of liquor.

Kathua ETO Virender Kumar said officials from J&K, Himachal and Punjab had held meeting to identify the potential routes from where smuggling of liquor could take place. “We have agreed on intelligence exchange, joint patrolling and even raids for peaceful conduct of polls,” he said.

He said Kathua district in J&K was the high risk zone. “All the liquor vends and bars in 3-km radius of the state border will also be shut on the polling day,” Kumar said.

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