Lockdown in Telangana is a tough time for tipplers, government

Hyderabad: The lockdown period in Telangana is a tough time for alcoholics and also for the State government. Reports of liquor addicts break opening wine shops to steal the bottles and picking up ID liquor (locally called as Gudumba) menace in the villages is worrying the government.

Complaints were made of addicts break opening liquor shop in four places in the wee hours and flee with bottles. All the licensed liquor shops have been closed a week ago as part of the lockdown clamped in Telangana to check the spread of deadly coronavirus.

Telangana Wine Dealers Association leader D Venkateswarlu said that wine dealers worried on the safety of their liquor shops after the incidents of robbing the wine stores reported in the busy Hyderabad area.

Unable to cope the liquor thirsty, the addicted are making rounds to the liquor shops but there is no sale since March 22. Some of them reportedly called the liquor leaders and threatened to attack the shops if they don't give them required alcohol.

After receiving no response from the dealers, some of the addicted tried to snatch away liquor by breaking the shop shutters in Narayanaguda, Uppal and other areas.

The association leader said that a request has been made to Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachkonda police Commissionarates to provide security to wine shops during nights and also requested the patrolling police teams to keep an eye.

The other major challenge before the government is to check the ID liquor smuggling as the bootleggers resumed manufacturing of illicitly distilled liquor to supply the addicts, who were craving.

On a tip off, the enforcement wing of the State Excise and Prohibition already conducted raids in old Mahbubnagar, Nalgonda and Warangal, where ID liquor menace was rampant until the government rooted out the illegal brewing centres that flourished in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh.

After the formation of Telangana, the Excise department eradicated ID liquor consumption and streamlined liquor sales through licensed shops for more revenues.

Sensing the ID liquor will possibly pose another big problem in the crisis time, the Excise and Prohibiition officials are gearing up to tackle the situation by deploying task forces in the identified areas.

The teams are keeping a close vigil on the activities of bootleggers, who faced charges earlier.