Mushrooming liquor shops and bars: Assam Assembly Standing Committee expresses concern

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Liquor shops and bars which are mushrooming in the State have always been a cause of concern for the civilized society. This time even the Assam Assembly Standing Committee has asked the government to review the process of granting licenses to open liquor shops and bars because they are polluting the social environment.

The Assam Assembly Standing Committee has pointed out that liquor shops and bars have been opened in almost all areas in Guwahati. Often, these liquor outlets are situated in close proximity to one another, which is a violation of regulation. The Committee cited the example of some areas in the GS Road where there is a liquor shop after every 50 metres. In Bhabanipur, there are many liquor shops within a radius of 300 metres. The Committee said that the government should not just look into revenue collection, it should also consider the negative impact of these mushrooming liquor shops and bars on society.

At present, there are 1,708 IMFL shops and 863 bars in Assam and process is on to grant licenses to more than 400 liquor shops. With liquor shops and bars mushrooming, especially near educational institutions, school and college students are getting exposed to alcohol. Although liquor shops should not sell alcohol to children below 21 years of age, rules are often flouted. Alcohol is easily available now. Teenagers usually start consuming alcohol for the thrill of it but slowly they get addicted to it. Various women’s organizations and other organizations stage protests demanding that liquor shops should be closed down. They have expressed anger over the fact that people in an inebriated state often create nuisance in public places and such people are a threat to women’s safety. Drunkards also indulge in domestic violence at home.

On the other hand, the government earns a huge amount of excise revenue from liquor shops and bars. In the last three years, the State Government has earned around Rs 6000 crore excise revenue. But revenue collection is not the only objective behind granting licenses to so many liquor outlets. According to State Excise Minister Parimal Suklabaidya, new licenses are granted based on viability reports submitted by the district administration, apart from considering the growing urbanization, development of tourism and population growth of a place.

In 2016, the number of liquor shops in Assam was 1,116, the number of bars was 473 while the number of country liquor shops was 195.

According to excise department sources, if Assam stops granting licenses to open new liquor shops, liquor will be smuggled from neighbouring states like Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh and these states will start getting the excise revenue. Moreover, if restrictions are imposed on opening liquor shops, illicit liquor dens will start mushrooming. Consumption of spurious liquor has serious health hazards, said sources.

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