CONRAD DIAS
Ranchi, May 19: It has been around 20 days since the state excise department took over the retail sale of IMFL and country liquor in the state. However, the majority of liquor shops in Ranchi are missing the majority of branded alcohols and beer.
The majority of tipplers from the city are travelling to nearby districts to buy beer at a higher price due to its shortage in the city.
Sachin Nitesh, a resident of Ranchi and a beer lover, said that to get his favourite alcoholic beverage he has to travel to Khunti to get the stocks.
“Most of the shops in Ranchi do not have a stock of beer. It has been so many days yet they haven’t stocked up their shops. We travel to Khunti to buy beer. In Ranchi, even the bars have very limited brands of beer,” he said.
As per the new excise policy, the liquor warehouse and stores in the state are being operated by the state-run Jharkhand State Beverage Corporation Limited (JSBCL) through hired agencies.
Earlier, the sale of liquor in the city was carried out by private players who had liquor licenses to sell alcohol.
A few days ago, the rate of a bottle of beer in a bar was Rs. 300 in Ranchi. However, now it is ranging anywhere between 400-450. Apart from that, many black sellers are selling it at 20% higher than the original rate.
The Jharkhand Rajya Khudra Sharaab Vikreta Sangh (JRKSVS) had criticised the government’s decision and said that the new excise policy is proving to be harmful.
“The motive to bring the new excise policy was to generate revenue. If there will be no stock of liquor in the shop then how will there be a sale? It has been more than 15 days yet the shops do not have enough supply of liquor. We knew this was coming that’s why we had earlier criticized it as well,” said the official from JRKSVS.
The Secretary of Jharkhand’s Excise and Prohibition Department Vinay Kumar Choubey had earlier explained that the reason to bring in the new excise policy was to stop the illegal liquor business in the state and generate revenue.
“We currently have 75 warehouses for storage. Now, there will be only five warehouses only at the divisional level. These will be well equipped with advanced surveillance, tracking, and storage systems,” Choubey had said.
Lagatar24.com tried to contact the joint commissioner of the Excise Department Gajendra Kumar Singh to know the current status of the supply of liquor in Ranchi but he could not be contacted.
Under JSBCL, a total of 1500 retail shops will run throughout the state. Previously, they had implemented this method, but state revenue had decreased. Since then, everything has been revised.
According to the study report, the overall revenue of Jharkhand excise will be Rs 3000 crore in the next three years, up from the current Rs 1800 crore.
