Mangaluru: The Deputy Commissioner of Excise, George Pinto, held a press meet to brief on the 2014-15 year achievements at his office premises in Maryhill here, on May 5.
In 5 taluks, there are 4 sub divisions and 11 zones operating in the district. The Deputy Commissioner of DK district is the incharge of the District Excise Department.
For the smooth functioning of the excise department, the government has released the Karnataka Excise manual book.
Addressing the mediapersons, George said that in the manual, the details of the responsibilities of the officers, rules to be followed during route beat and the point books placed in different locations have been written. “Whoever is on the route beat should collect all the information of illegal liquor sale and also keep an eye on old convicts. In the district, we have placed 420 point books in 62 routes. The officials have patrolled 1,242 times and registered 6,772 remarks in the year 2014-15.”
“To bring awareness about the disadvantages of illicit liquor sale and illicit liquor consumption among the rural population, the officers from the excise department held 182 meetings in rural areas. We have also asked people in the rural areas to join hands with the Excise Department to curb the sale and consumption of illicit liquor.”
To prevent liquor from being transported from other states, especially Goa, officials were deployed for road patrols and 34,653 vehicles have been checked in the year 2014-15.
“At present in the district, we have 446 liquor licenses. Out of these, 153 (CL-2) are retail liquor store licences, 215 (CL-9) bar licences, 41 (CL-7) lodging and boarding licences, 4 clubs, 11 MSIL stores with CL-11 C licence, 2 CL-8 licenses and 1 CL-6A Star. In the year 2014-15, we have inspected 5,948 licenses.”
“In the year 2014-15, DK district has sold 25,80,222 boxes of liquor and 17,26,636 boxes of beer, generating a revenue of Rs 973 crore in the process. We have also collected Rs 340 crore from distilleries producing alcohol.”
“There are vacant posts for constables and head constables. Even though we are short of man power, we have registered 441 cases against illicit liquor sale and also filed 14 lawsuits. We have also collected penalties amounting to Rs 6,82,500 in the year 2014-15.”
“Dakshina Kannada is Illicit liquor free. We have taken all measures to eradicate illicit liquor in the city and are continuously monitoring some places. Under the instructions of the government, we have also collected Rs 25 lakh from 9 cases which were pending from a long time.” George also assured to arrest drug peddlers. “In Udupi, we have seized heroin worth Rs 1.5 crore. In Dakshina Kannada also, we will raid places where drug peddling is rampant. We need the support from the general public to eradicate drug mafia and save our youth from falling prey to drugs.”
Superintendent of Excise Department Shiva Prasad and Ratnakar Rai were also present.
And here is Mr. George Pinto again with an impeccable track record in action. Nothing escapes the attention of Mr. Pinto and he is known for his integrity, strength of character and above all a bold stand when it comes to rules and regulations. It is true that a lot of liquor gets smuggled into Mangalore from Goa. Whereas so many cases have been detected – many go unnoticed. In the execution of his duties of course there are efficient people like Shiva Prasad and Ratnakar Rai to assist Mr. Pinto. I am sure people have various ideas on the… Read more »