YS Jagan creates action plan for liquor ban in Andhra Pradesh

The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is keen on fulfilling the promises, made by him, during the election campaign. One such promise was to enforce a liquor ban in the State.

Starting off from 5 June, the Andhra Pradesh State Government is planning to introduce revised policies for setting up, and running of, liquor shops. This will coincide with the fact that the licenses, of many of the existing outlets, are about to expire this year.

The closure of unlicensed belt shops is being implemented phase-wise. The State Government will also put efforts on educating people about the adverse effects of alcohol consumption across all the villages and mandals. The prices on liquor will be marginally increased to discourage people from buying.

Reportedly, there are around thousands of liquor shops in the 4 districts of North Andhra – Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and East Godavari. The first stage of the ban implementation is expected to bring the number these shops down drastically. The liquor shops which will still continue to run will face stringent action including the cancellation of licenses.

The excise department officials have been ordered to carry out the implementation of the liquor ban. Notably, officials who show a hundred percent success rate, in doing so, will be rewarded. Moreover, the excise officials have been directed not to act as revenue agents but rather concentrate on the implementation of the policies.

Revenue Department Special Chief Secretary Sambasiva Rao and Excise Commissioner MK Meena conducted a review meeting with other department officials They concluded that one sub-inspector, and a constable, should be assigned to every village to ensure blocking the formation of any belt shops. They will work together with special mandal level committees in order to achieve the same objective.

The Indian states that are currently practicing liquor prohibition are Bihar, Gujarat, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, and Nagaland.