Control room opened with 11 special squads to check illicit liquor trade during poll

Surjit Kumar dhal,Cuttack, March 16:The District Excise Department has geared up for smooth and peaceful conduct of the general election in Cuttack district.

          Besides setting up a control room at the district excise office, it has intensified raids by forming special squads to curb the illicit liquor and other contraband trade.

            Total 11 squads including 9 Charge Office squads and two mobile squads have been constituted and attached to the control room to keep tab on the illicit liquor and other contraband trade, informed District Excise Superintendent Ashok Kumar Satapathy.

Excise Deputy Superintendent Madhusmita Nayak is in charge of the control room function since March 9, he added.

While three vehicles have been provided to Inspectors of Cuttack Sadar, Athagarh and Banki Excise Subdivision to facilitate officials in raiding, another vehicle has been kept reserve at the headquarter for the conduct of emergency raids.

           Apart from conducting regular patrolling and raids, the excise officials have kept a close watch on some sensitive areas of Athagarh, Narasinghpur, Banki, Choudwar, Salepur, Phulnakhara, Niali and Kantapada regions by engaging the departmental intelligence personnel.

Besides, the department sleuths have also kept a close watch on some persons who were arrested for illicit liquor and other contraband trade and have released on bail to check the rerun of the illicit trade.

While a majority of the foreign liquor shops in the district are under CCTV camera surveillance, some others have either no facility at all or the facility lying defunct.

The Excise Superintendent who has directed liquor shop owners to make functional of the defunct CCTV cameras at their shops, has also instructed officials to keep a tab on supply of liquor from the depots to shops and sales and consumptions at the shops by checking the CCTV footage.

The excise officials have also been asked to initiate action if excess amount of liquor are found flowing from the shops.

       Beside 64 licenced country liquor shops, there are 117 foreign liquor off shop and 50 foreign liquor on shops in different localities of the district.