PALAKKAD: Virtually delivering on the promise of tribal empowerment, the government has issued orders for the appointment of 25 Adivasis, including two women, as Civil Excise Officers. The move is aimed at giving further teeth to the drive against the growing menace of drugs and illicit alcohol(hooch) in the tribal areas.
‘‘In the Palakkad division, all the five recruits have been chosen from Attappadi. While two of them will be posted in the range office at Agali, the remaining three will be posted in the Janamaithri outpost at Kottathara in Attappadi. They have been directly recruited by the PSC after physical verification,’’ said Nishanth, preventive officer, Excise Department.
Malappuram and Wayanad are the other two districts where the recruitment has been conducted. Though prohibition is in place in Attappadi, illicit liquor is freely available in the region. Ganja plants are also being cultivated by outsiders in the tribal hamlets located in the interior areas. They use tribals as carriers.
The Excise Commissioner had recommended posts should be created in the Excise Range Offices which was accepted by the government. The special squads consisting of the newly-recruited personnel will function in the areas adjacent to the forests. The two women will function in the Excise Range Offices at Mananthavady and Sultan Bathery.
While 17 will be posted in Wayanad, five will be based in Attappadi, with the remaining three in Malappuram. In Wayanad, three personnel each will be posted at the Kalpetta, Sultan Bathery and Mananthavady range offices.
Training helped students
Circle Inspector V Krishnankutty said it was during his tenure as Agali Sub-Inspector and later as special officer the Adivasi students of the Model Residential schools in Attappadi were imparted training in karate and other martial arts. He said such training helped the Adivasi students to excel in the physical fitness tests for the police and Excise.