'Cops slacking off in drive against drinking in open'

NASHIK: Consumption of liquor in the open, mainly while eating at roadside foodstalls in the city, is going unchecked owing to the lack of coordination between the city police and the officials of the excise department. With rising mercury levels, a large number of youngsters are seen 'chilling out' at roadside food stalls, gardens and other places.A few months back, the police had warned of strict action against persons found consuming liquor in the open and at such stalls.
However, after the initial action by the police department, the campaign against drinking in the open seems to have fizzled out and the situation remains unchanged. In the night, a large number of youngsters are found consuming liquor in gardens and at food stalls. The excise department is of the view that if this practice is curbed, it will automatically lead to more business of licensees at bars and permit rooms and add to the revenue of the government. Cops insist action against such people is regular.
"We have taken action in this regard in the past and we are continuing with the same even now. However, this is not regular only because the city's police force is also tied up with many other crackdowns, operations and drives," said ACP Ganesh Shinde.
Meanwhile, in the recent past, the state government had issued a circular, appealing to police commissioners and superintendents of police to inform the state excise department if they found any violation of terms and conditions of liquor licences rather than taking action on their own, which not only affects the revenue generation of the excise department but also demonstrates lack of co-ordination between the two departments of the state.
When senior police officers were questioned in this regard, they clarified that this was not the case in Nashik and it could be easily gauged that though all commercial establishments are closed down by 10pm, no liquor shops or bars and permit rooms are forced to shut down.
Unaware of the technicalities, local citizens are demanding that drinking in the open be banned in the city. Rajesh Pawar of the Upnagar area said, "With the summer vacation currently underway, when we take our kids to gardens or even to have bhelpuri at the food stalls by the road, we constantly come across youngsters consuming liquor. At some places, they drink out in the open. A crackdown by cops can take care of things." With summer here already and a lot of people venturing out of their houses in the evenings, the menace of drinking in the open is pretty noticeable.