Assam and Arunachal Pradesh Unite to Combat Illegal Cross-Border Liquor Trade

GUWAHATI: Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have decided to act jointly to rein in the illegal cross-border liquor trade between the two states.

Arunachal Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein and Assam Excise Minister Keshab Mahanta, accompanied by their top officials, met here today.

Both states admitted to having suffered revenue losses due to this illegal liquor trade. The meeting agreed to share information between excise officials from the two states to tame the illegal liquor trade.

The Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister agreed to provide all possible help to Assam to stop the illegal cross-border liquor trade. “We have already plugged most of the loopholes to prevent liquor from entering Assam illegally from Arunachal Pradesh,” he said.

Liquor entering Assam illegally from Arunachal Pradesh has been a continuous process, leading to liquor seizures in Assam almost every day. A few days ago, Assam excise officials seized liquor worth Rs 6 lakh in the inter-state border area in the Sonitpur district. The liquor entered Assam from Aruanchal Pradesh illegally.

In August 2022, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma asked the state excise department to set up checkpoints along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border to prevent liquor from the neighbouring state from entering Assam. Though Assam took a slew of measures to check the menace, the illegal cross-border liquor trade is far from being rooted out. 

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