BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to strengthen enforcement activities, the Excise department is planning to set up police stations in every block of the state.
At present, there are about 201 Excise police stations in the state. The department has submitted a proposal to Odisha government to set up a police station in each of the 314 blocks. The proposal includes setting up new police stations at 25 vulnerable locations in the state. The new police stations are expected to have a sanctioned strength of eight to 10 personnel each. Currently, the department has a sanctioned manpower of more than 2,600.
“Some proposals are in the pipeline to strengthen the infrastructure and enhance the manpower. These are under the active consideration of the state government and likely to be approved soon,” said a senior officer.
Apart from creating new police stations, the department has also requested the government to set up a prosecution wing to enhance investigation of the cases and ensure that they end in conviction.
While the above proposals are likely to take shape in the coming months, the state government has already agreed to provide 163 vehicles to the existing Excise police stations to strengthen patrolling, checking and other enforcement activities. Only 33 police stations were earlier provided with one vehicle each. However, the government now has decided to provide vehicles to the remaining police stations across the state, sources said.
“For an instance, Cuttack has more than six Excise police stations. But only one police station was provided with a vehicle. Hence, there was a major challenge in carrying out enforcement activities. With the addition of more vehicles, enforcement activities will be carried out more vigorously across the state,” said the officer.
Meanwhile, the department has warned stringent action against drug peddlers and illicit liquor manufacturers/traders. Besides, it has cautioned liquor on-shops/bars not to deviate from the guidelines and rules of doing business.