Violent incidents at permit rooms rock Karimnagar

Karimnagar: Permit rooms operated by liquor traders in Karimnagar joint district are being operated against the rules leading to violent incidents.

Two murder incidents took place in permit rooms in Karimnagar city within a month. Recently, the brutal murder of a youth in front of a liquor shop opposite the Karimnagar One Town Police Station created a stir. A man from Ongole was killed in a drunken brawl between two men.

In August, midnight, a dispute between two drunken men in the permit room led to a fight where a man hit the other on the head with a rock and resulting on instant death. A series of incidents are causing people to panic. Excise department is in slumber even though permit rooms are running against the rules.

The officials have put pressure on the traders by setting a target of getting more applications for each shop in the current liquor licence period. But it is criticised that not a single liquor store has been seized which is running permit rooms contrary to the rules.

A person who bought alcohol in a liquor shop should get drunk in the adjacent permit room and leave immediately. The permit room should have an area of only one hundred square meters. But most liquor shops do not follow this rule. A permit room of 1000, 1500 square meters area is being set up. There should be only one table. Only food in packets should be kept available.

But, none of these rules are being implemented in the permit rooms at the wine shops in the joint district. Permit rooms like bar and restaurants continue to have tens of tables and chairs. All kinds of meat from chicken to fish are available, liquor addicts spend hours there.

With the help of the field level excise officers, the permit rooms at the wine shops are getting out of control. In some areas, allegations are being made that officials are not paying attention to the complaints of local residents. As liquor shops are set up in random places on the roads, excessive parking causes congestion and traffic problems.

Two liquor shops on Satavahana University Road in Karimnagar city, liquor shops in Ramnagar, Rampur areas and suburban villages have permit rooms that are like bar and restaurants. 10-20 tables are placed in each room. In some places permit rooms are run till midnight.

There is a lack of cleanliness in the permit rooms. Garbage heaps are littered with used liquor bottles and water packets. To serve food in restaurants, licenses must be obtained from Municipalities and Corporations. But those selling in permit rooms do not have any licenses.

Facilities like drinking water and toilets should be provided in each permit room. These are not found in most permit rooms. As there are permit rooms next to the main roads, heavy vehicle drivers and cleaners are drunk and causing accidents.

As for the belt shops, in every village of Karimnagar district, there are many belt shops which start at 6 am are running non-stop till 12 midnight. There is no holiday for them as excise officials are in deep slumber.

As this time due to Assembly and Parliament elections and festivals liquor tenders have been placed liquor shops on a large scale accordingly the owners are making preparations to set up belt shops and permit rooms on a large scale this time too.