Moved by the spurious liquor tragedy in which five workers perished in Vijayawada, Opposition leader YS Jaganmohan Reddy announced that he would implement complete prohibition in the state once his government came to power. Jagan visited Krishna Lanka in Vijayawada on Tuesday where the incident took place on Monday and interacted with the families of the victims.
Alleging that the deaths of workers occurred because of chief minister Chandrababu Naidu’s liquor policy that resulted in the proliferation of liquor shops and belts shops, he said Naidu’s liquor policy was destroying the families and society alike. TDP government’s liquor policy had made all sorts of liquor available freely round the clock even in villages, he said
Jagan wondered as to how the liquor was allowed to be sold from 6 AM to midnight. He also asked how the shops were allowed to sell the liquor above MRP rates.
” The government is bent on promoting liquor consumption in the state to enhance the revenues. Because of proliferation of liquor shops and illegal prices, the revenue of state has gone in an unprecedented way. While the collection of entire annual sale of liquor in 2014 was just Rs 6632 crore, this year, till October the sales in 2015 touched the mark of Rs 7050 crore. At this rate, the sales are sure to reach Rs 1200o crore by the end of this year. This appetite for liquor revenue is producing disaster in the state,’ he said.
Praising Gujarat, Jagan said, the Gujarat stands first in the development minus liquor revenues. “Similarly, immediately after the elections, Bihar chief minister Nitish also announced prohibition. If Naidu is wise, he should immediately ban the liquor in public. If he fails to do so, we do it when our party comes to power. We are coming to power soon, ” he asserted. The liquor should be confined to the five star hotels alone where rich could afford good and bad of the consumption, he added
Meanwhile, Vijayawada city Congress president Malladi Vishunu is made A-9 in the spurious liquor case related to the death of five laborers . According to police, another former MLA is likely to be booked in the case for his connections with the liquor business of Malladi Vishnu. Vishnu is already in the custody of the police.
DGP Ramudu also visited the place of tragedy on Tuesday and the Swarna Bar. Police have seized many documents from the Swarna Bar which sold the adulterated liquor to the workers on Monday morning. They are said to have confiscated the CC footage as well from the bar.
Following incident in Vijyawada, officials raided many wine shops in krishna, Guntur and Vizianagarm districts to verify the brands of the liquor being sold. Wine shops in Mangalagiri, Vuyyuru and Gudivada are under officials’ scrutiny. The State government has already suspended the license to sell 9 brands of dubious quality. Meanwhile, doctors said condition of three more persons was critical and 20 were convalescing.
