Vijayawada: Drive against belt shops

Vijayawada: After clear directions from Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on controlling belt shops across the state, excise officials in city have focused on illegal liquor sale. The Chief Minister, considering the row of protests from women’s organisations opposing bars and wine shops, has finally decided to fulfill his first signature made on controlling belt shops.

Officials of the excise department are trying to identify the sources of liquor to the unauthorised outlets and heading to take stringent action on those bars and wine shops sending their stocks to the belts shops. Officials who took a back step on belt shops with the political intervention have now started stringent action with the directions of the Chief Minister.

“We have organised searches in many wine shops in the district and collected the batch numbers of stocks supplied to shops from depot and matching them with the stocks surrendered at belt shops. Majority of stocks surrendered in belt shops were lacking manufacturing details and batch numbers. We have kept an eye on inter-state border areas at Mylavaram, Kanchika-cherla, Nandigama, and Jaggaiahpet where sale of Telangana state liquor was very high,”said a senior official of the prohibition and excise  department. Meanwhile, the city police are gearing up to take action on alcoholics creating nuisance on main roads in city. Special pickets were arranged near bars and wine shops to monitor the situation.

Meanwhile, Guntur urban SP Ch. Vijaya Rao at Guntur on Wednesday conducted a review meeting police officials and reviewed about the crime scenario. Mentioning about the government orders about removal of illegal liquor belt shops, he directed police officials to remove all illegal shops. He further directed to keep vigil on rowdy-sheeters, land-grabbers and criminals and act tough against anti-social elements for peace in the society. He enquired about pending cases in the police stations and directed to speed up investigation into those cases and to provide justice to the complainants.

Mr Vijaya Rao said that special drive against unlicenced drivers, mainly minors would continue till July last. He appealed to parents not to give bikes and other vehicles to their minor children.