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Amid pro-ban cries, liquor raises Rs 2.37 billion for Kerala exchequer

Joseph Alexander in Thiruvananthapuram

The anti-liquor, pro-prohibition campaign is gaining momentum in Kerala. Ironically for it, the liquor sector is set to make the largest ever contribution of Rs 2.37 billion to the state exchequer.

The recent auction of toddy and liquor shops for the year 1999-2000 swelled the income from the sector by Rs 549.5 million from the previous year's figure.

Auctions themselves were eventful, as a large number of contractors turned up in spite of state-wide agitations, mass hunger strikes, road blockades, picketing and mass awareness campaigns by the anti-liquor activists.

The auctions were for shops in 123 ranges. Toddy registered an amazing 170 per cent increase in the rates to Rs 549.5 million while foreign liquor shops' rates went up from Rs 962.1 million to Rs 1.10 billion.

State Excise Commissioner John Mathai pointed out that the ban on arrack, imposed by the previous Antony government in 1996, was the main reason for the steady rise in revenue from liquor.

For the year 1996-97, the income stood at just Rs 1.22 billion and it made an unprecedented increase during the next year touching the Rs 2.36 billion mark. However, there was a decrease in the income during 1998-99 as the auctions fetched Rs 1.80 billion.

The total money involved in the liquor trade, including sale of spurious and illicit liquor, is about Rs 75 billion, say the anti-liquor activists.

When the ban on arrack was imposed, the average consumption was 3.2 million cases. However, according to present calculations, the required quantity would touch 7.77 million cases.

A survey by a de-addiction centre shows that 28 per cent of the population consume liquor, 60 per cent of whom are alcoholics. Around 4,000 patients are treated every year in the 11 state-run de-addiction centres, besides private clinics.

However, after arrack was banned, incidents like hooch tragedies have been rare.

Kerala Anti-Liquor People's Forum, comprising many organisations spanning all communities, has been waging an unrelenting crusade for total prohibition.

The agitation, spearheaded by women activists, was claimed to have achieved partial success when a ban was imposed on arrack sale.

But with uninterrupted supply of illicit liquor and spirit, the forum now demands nothing less than a complete ban on liquor.

After the continuous stir, launched on the human rights day on December 10, the leaders of the forum now affirm that what they feared most is to take place soon, flow of illicit spirit with the rise in auction rates.

"Earlier we demanded a time-bound action plan in phases towards achieving the goal. But, after the ban on arrack, the illicit spirit and spurious liquor continued to flow freely. Hence, we are not ready to give in at this stage," says Father Eugene Perera, convenor of the forum.

"We are set to intensify the campaign with village-level mass awareness programmes and campaigns," he says.

The efforts of the forum to siege the auction sites also met with a harsh response in the state capital, when the police allegedly suppressed the stir with brutal force.

As many as 24 people, including nuns and priests, were injured in the incident on March 8 when they tried to block the auction. In Kottayam and Kannur, a group of bishops and religious leaders had observed fast in support of the stir.

Meanwhile, over 11,000 employees and their families who were displaced following the arrack ban have also launched agitation. According to their association, as many as 54 people had committed suicide following the financial woes due to the ban.

They also clashed with the anti-liquor activists recently in the capital.

Amidst all this, the government continues to maintain the status quo.

UNI

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