Goemkapronn desk
CANACONA: 56 Liquor outlets in Canacona within 5-Kms along Goa’s southernmost border with Karnataka State, are coming within the purview of the Election Commission order on Assembly Elections of Karnataka State.
Of the 56 Liquor Outlets, there are 39 Bars/ Taverns/ Consumption outlets, Retail sale of packed bottle licensees (Wine Shops)- 12 Wholesale of liquor Licencees -03, Duty-Paid Warehouse Licencee -01 and Country Liquor Bottling Unit-01 are within the 5-Kms range of Karnataka border (Majali-Karwar), informed Canacona Excise Supdt Chandrashekar Dessai.
All these liquor outlets, be it consumer points or wholesalers, warehouses or bottling units, will have to keep their shutters down for the 10th May Karnataka Assembly Elections and Counting Day.
Liquor outlets will be closed from 17 hours (5 pm) on 8 May to 24 hours (12 am) on 10 May for the Karnataka Elections. Similarly, on Counting Day, the liquor outlets which fall within 5 km of the border with Karnataka will be closed from 6 am 13 May to 6 am 14 May ’23.
However, the Bar and Restaurants within this 5-kms range will be allowed to serve food, but compulsory close the Bar Counter.
According to sources at the Canacona Excise Office, a total of 122.75 bulk litres of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) worth a value of Rs.51783/- was seized by by Canacona Excise Office and Excise checkpost, Polem Staff since the code of Conduct came into force following declaration of Karnataka State Legislative Assembly Elections-2023.
Incidentally, all these 56 liquor outlets are located within the jurisdiction of the village panchayat of Loliem-Polem of Canacona taluka in Goa State, which shares its southernmost border with Karnataka state in Canacona Taluka.
Providing a strict vigil, Canacona excise, which also set in motion a Flying Squad to check the infiltration and smuggling of liquor/alcohol from the State, is providing a 24 hours surveillance not on the Polem checkpost but also on all the known routes to Karnataka, including the sea-route and through dense forest routes,
Besides strict surveillance of border checkpost, the three excise teams, one led by an Excise-Inspector, and two others by 2- Excise Sub-Inspectors, working round-the-clock in 3-batches, also keeps track of forest route throughMarlim-Tirval, Bela, Ambdem-fond, and importantly sea route at Polem, informed Dessai.
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