The Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB) has launched a drive to check the sale of black jaggery for brewing illicitly distilled (ID) liquor in Anantapur and Sri Sathya Sai districts. The SEB officials confiscated 11,040 kg black jaggery during raids in Anantapur in May alone and destroyed 18,205 liters of ID liquor, along with the arrest of 275 persons in 259 cases.
SEB Additional Superintendent of Police J. Ram Mohan Rao told The Hindu that there were only seven licence holders for selling and stocking black jaggery in Anantapur district. “The SEB and other relevant agencies has launched a drive against those involved in stocking black jaggery illegally. We have asked the retailers in the suspect zones to share the names and phone numbers of the people who buy black jaggery in large quantities,” said Mr. Ram Mohan Rao.
Licence mandatory
As per the provisions, a licence issued by the Agriculture Market Committee is mandatory for black jaggery trade and a licence holder is allowed to stock more than 50 kg of the produce. All retailers and dealers are supposed to provide the list of persons buying more than 10 kg black jaggery, along with their phone numbers, in the form of a return to be filed with the AMC.
In Anantapur and Sri Sathya Sai districts, brewers use tumma wood, sugar or black jaggery for fermentation of the ID liquor.
Black jaggery trade is continuing unabated in Sri Sathya Sai district, even as there is no licence holder. However, the intervention of the SEB officials has made the ID liquor brewers starved of supplies of black jaggery the officials said, the officials said.
Two cases were booked in Guntakal and Gooty, in addition to seven more on charges of violation of the rules. “We are conducting awareness meetings for black jaggery traders. Stringent action will be taken against those selling jaggery in violation of the laws. We are trying to cut the supply of black jaggery to liquor brewers,” said Mr. Ram Mohan Rao.
Meanwhile, the SEB officials have destroyed 2 lakh liters of non-duty paid liquor and duty paid liquor worth ₹50 crore in 10 days.
