LUDHIANA: The unabated freedom struggle in Punjab has seriously affected the liquor trade in the border state which this year hoped to earn Rs.382 crore from liquor vends. Nearly 250 liquor vends in rural areas have failed to open from the start of the financial year on April 1 last. About 100 persons connected with the trade have already gunned down for defying the reformation code of the Sikhs dictating prohibition. Sangrur is reported to be the worst affected districts where about 150 vend are lying closed; Bathinda, Ludhiana and Patiala are the other most affected districts. In Ludhiana, 39 rural vends are lying closed. While most vends were not allowed to open from the very beginning, some were forced to close down. Village panchayats at several places are reported to be under great pressure not to allow the liquor shops to function from within their jurisdiction.

The state exchequer as well as liquor  licenses fear great threat in their income if the present trend continues, During the 1990-91 financial year, militants stepped up the anti-liquor campaign during the last four months and the state government had to grant a relief of Rs 13 crore to liquor traders to compensate them for the loss. The loss is likely to assume alarming pro- portions during the current financial year with nine months still to go.

The threat

There is a different sort of threat to vend this year as compared to last year. Earlier, vends were either destroyed or burnt along with boules inside. Their owners or employees remained untouched as they won reprieve up to March 31 after which they publicly told to quit the trade. The prime largest now are traders and their employees or vends.

About 100 salesmen have already been killed, including 44 during April. Of course, at places vends have also been razed to the ground.

 In the Kum Kalan area of Ludhiana district, salesmen of all the five vends has been killed. One head constable of police posted there was also killed while two constables were injured. All these vend have now been closed down. Salesmen are not available now even at R.s, 2000 per month against the previous prevailing rate of R.s 500 per month.

The Irony

The irony is that the state government while auctioning a vend, fixes the daily licensee fee running into thousands of rupees, irrespective or the fact whether the vend is open or closed on a particular day. Now it has failed to ensure that the vend is able to carry on business on all 365 days of the year. Last year the relief was granted on the basis of a bandh observed in a particular area. But this time when bandh calls have declined considerable and vends face danger in isolation, it has failed to come to their rescue and is insisting on payment of licensee fee by the owners regularly and on time.

Even excise officials admit that for the first time, the relations between the excise staff and licensees, who have been very cordial so far, are under strain now. Mr. Subhash Chander Beri, a leading contractor alleged that in some districts like Ropar licensees were facing great harassment at the hands of excise staff that have to achieve their revenue collection targets. About 100 licensees, he said, had appealed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, seeking remission of licensee fee for the period vends have been lying closed and they have already got stay order in their favor.

The sources in the excise department, however, said that the problem was not wholly a creation of militants alone. Some rival liquor traders in an area get the vends of their rivals closed in the name of militants which directly benefits them as their sales immediately get a boost.

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