The Assam excise department’s fledgling steps to prevent a repeat of the recent hooch tragedy could see the involvement of at least eight more government departments to make it broadbased and effective.

The decision to include the other departments was taken after a thorough review of last month’s hooch tragedy that left over 155 dead in two Upper Assam districts. It became clear that the excise department solo efforts check the movement and sale of key ingredients such as molasses, methanol and alcoholic spirit required to manufacture sulai (hooch) or other spurious liquor in the state will not yield the desired result.

The excise department has been facing flak for its inability to check the tragedy with people in the affected areas alleging that a nexus between the excise and police departments and the local administration was helping hooch traders. A crackdown against hooch traders was launched once the tragedy struck.

A senior excise department offical said it was necessary to launch a coordinated and sustained multi-department drive to plug loopholes in the existing system through effective monitoring and awareness.

Sailendra Pandey, PRO to the excise minister Parimal Suklabaidya, said letters to the other departments seeking help in checking the help would be sent by Monday. “The minister and senior officials have come up with an exhaustive plan, including help of other departments so that precious lives could be saved in the future. The CMO is also extendng all help,” he said.

According to the plan, the industry department will be requested to share information about manufacture and sellers of methanol and methanol-based products such as paints, plastics and cosmetics so that the excise department could keep tabs on movement of methanol and its misuse by those manufacturing sulai.

Secondly, the excise department will keep tabs on the movement of alcoholic spirit, used to manufacture IMFL and country liquor, from distilleries to the bottling plants with the help of the transport department and the police so that it is not stolen en route by those in the hooch business.

“All spirit tankers will be fitted with digital lock and GPS so that it cannot be siphoned off. Once the tanker leaves the distillery, it will be offloaded only at the bottling plants after keying the password (known to excise official) on the digital lock in the presence excise and plant officials,” Pandey said.

The plan includes controlling movement, sale, supply, storage asnd import of molasses (laligur) used in making sulai with help of food and civil supplies department; making methanol antidote available in hospitals through the health department and carrying out sustained awareness drive through tea tribes and labour department.

HOOCH CURB STRATEGY

The excise department is trying to involve the home, health, industries, transport, legislative,labour, food and civil supplies departments, along with the GST council, to check hooch menace.

Move afoot to include methanol in the list of poisons under the Poisons Act, 1919, so that its use can be regulated by the health department

Opinion of the legislative department on a proposed legislation to regulate the movement/stop the misuse of molasses for making illicit liquor

Excise department claims accountability will be fixed, punitive action will be taken after a probe into hooch tragedy is completed