Pune on a high as liquor sale shoots up across district

The state excise department,which has generated Rs 1,391.1 crore revenue from Pune district in 2012-13,has netted around Rs 1,000 crore from levying excise duty on liquor sale alone.

As per official record,Pune district has around 1,200 permit rooms,700 beer-shops,305 country liquor shops and 260 wine shops.

Advocacy group Yuvak Kranti Dal (YuKranD),which is fighting for a comprehensive liquor ban in Maharashtra,has pointed out the direct effect of enhanced liquor sale on the increasing crime rate and the ill-effects on the families affected by it as well as the society at large.

“There are evidences of the rising crime rate having a direct link with consumption of alcohol. Most crimes take place under the influence of alcohol. Road rage and accidents,in several cases,are the outfall of alcohol intake. It is appalling to see the plight of families that have members who are alcoholics,” YuKranD’s state-level organiser Vikas Lawande said.

Social activist-writer Dr Anil Avachat,who is the founder of a noted rehabilitation home for addicts,Muktangan’,said the constant rise in liquor sale indicates addition in drinkers,terming it as an alarming sign.

“It is a proven fact that one in every five social drinkers become alcoholic. It is unfortunate that social drinking is becoming more like an etiquette and gaining ground in our cultural values. Alcohol addiction has become more critical an issue than substance abuse. Domestic violence is the first and foremost ill-effect of alcohol,followed by other menaces,” he said.

Making an appeal for government-level measures to discourage sale and consumption of alcohol,experts and activists have underlined the need for public awareness on the ill-effects of alcohol.