BENGALURU: With the Lok Sabha elections on the horizon, the excise department and Mysore Sales International Limited (MSIL) are keeping an eye on the daily liquor sales and stocks. Along with this, the department is also thinking of capping the maximum sales per person till the elections are over.
As per data from the office of the chief electoral officer (CEO), there has already been a 31.79% rise in seizures of liquor in just 10 days from the imposition of the model code of conduct.
According to the data, from March 10, 2019, to March 24, 2019, election officials had seized 4.90 lakh litres of liquor worth Rs 19.88 crore.
This year, from March 16-26, 8.40 lakh litres worth Rs 26.20 crore has already been seized. “There has already been a 31.79% rise in seizures and on a daily basis, the seizures are rising. Till March 29, 2024, 8,63,337.38 litres worth Rs 27,27,59,762 has been seized,” an election official said.
In fact, even before the model code of conduct was imposed, from August 1, 2023, to March 14, 2024, the department had seized 7,79,062 litres worth Rs 40.74 crore.
The MSIL head office in Bengaluru is keeping an online check on the sales figures on a daily basis. “We are not permitting any bulk liquor sales for any occasion. As per rules, a maximum of 4.5 litre per person can be sold. With the rise in seizures and demand for liquor, we are thinking of reducing the per person liquor sales further till the elections are over. It is only still in discussion stage,” said an official from MSIL.
Another official from the department said in the coming days, daily liquor sale figures from bars and other sales outlets will be procured. “We have an average daily report of sales. We also have prepared an estimation chart of the rise in sale figures. It is expected that there will be a rise in liquor sales, but we do not want any untoward incidents to happen,” the official added.
As per the CEO office report released on Friday, the department seized 7,344 litres of IML worth Rs 29,50,486 in KSBCL Depo, APMC Yard, Sirsi, Uttara Kannada district. Since the officials found a mismatch in excise adhesive labels affixed on the carton boxes and liquor which were being supplied from Hassan district, an FIR was also filed.
Similarly, the department officials on election duty also seized 8,970 litres of beer worth Rs 29,92,910 in KSBCL Depot 2 in Whitefield, Bengaluru, and filed FIRs.
Under scanner
Total liquor seized 8,63,337.38 litre
Worth: D27,27,59,762
CASES: 974 heinous, 884 breach of licence conditions, 50 NDPS and 3,682 under Section 15(a) of Karnataka Excise Act, 1965