News from our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Goa (SP)

Panaji, Apr 10: Piqued by the innumerable checks and gruelling questions being raised by the Election Commission officials, the wholesale and retail liquor outlets in Goa have shut down their shops in protest.

The wholesalers allege, that the state excise officials, working under the directives of the Election Commission, are going overboard to ensure that liquor is not misused during the poll campaign, resulting in their undue harassment.

“We will continue with our protest strike, till the excise department and Election Commission do not heed to our demands. The harassment is mounting with each passing day, which is unbearable,” Bernabe Sapeco, convener of Liquor Traders Association, said.   He added, the norms make it mandatory during every election, to submit a daily sale statement to the excise office by the end of the day. “But this time, the excise officials are hounding us by asking for immediate, on-the-spot statements for inspection,” he added.

Goa has around 800 liquor wholesalers scattered all across the state.

Sapeco stated that Goa being a tourist state, the tourists come in large numbers. “It is difficult to keep track of liquor sale by the hour. Our demand is to put an end to these dictatorial orders by the EC,” he said.

The excise officials, however, rubbish the allegations of harassment. “We will sort out the issues with the wholesalers,” an excise official stated.

The Election Commission has taken stringent measures to ensure that the liquor is not misused for the electioneering purposes and also it is not pushed into the neighbouring states of Maharashtra or Karnataka.
 
North Goa district collector K S Singh said, all the border check posts are sealed and even the joint teams of forest and excise are patrolling the routes through the forest roads, which have the potential to be used to transport liquor.