EXCISE INCOME DOWN BY 42 CRORES;

Madikeri July 7, 2007

The annual excise income from Kodagu has come down drastically after the arrack ban.

Excise deputy commissioner Haridas disclosed that government exchequer was earning rupees 46.89 crores each year through excise auctioning from Kodagu and it is reduced to a meager rupees 4.77 crore now. The government gets income only through license renewing and slapping of fine now.

The government has doubled the renewal fee to Bars and shops selling other drinks. It had fetched rupees 2.52 crore during last season from178 centers. This year the renewal fee is fixed at rupees 4.77 crores. Couple of shops and Bars in the district is yet to renew the fee.

Haridas told this correspondent that an excise distribution centre is opened at Virajpet from the first of July. Traders were finding it difficult to collect drinks only from Kushalnagar centre. He said that the government has doubled the target of distributing drinks. Their target is increased from twenty thousand boxes to fifty thousand boxes.

Haridas revealed a baffling number of arrack sachets being sold in the district. Forty lakh sachets a month!

He said that there are no significant cases of illegal arrack being sold in the district after the ban. Police and tahasildars are given additional power to curb such activities, he said.

ARRACK SELLER SUCCUMBS;

A person selling arrack sachet illegally died yesterday.

Suresh, 37 was arrested on July second for selling sachets at Valnur Tyagattor area, even after the ban. He was under judicial custody. He reportedly fell unconscious inside the sell yesterday. He was released on bail and was being shifted to NIMHANS for treatment. However, he died on the way.

HARANGI FLOWS FULL, SPREADS JOY;

Harangi reservoir is full and crest gates are opened today.

Onlookers are galloping to get the glimpse of the panoramic view the reservoir is throwing. The reservoir hit the maximum level of 2859 feet today and all the four crest gates are opened. Farmers in the area are happy. Young boys were found catching fishes and crabs as the water gushed out with fishes and crabs.

The inflow was fifteen thousand cusecs. Out flow was 14,900 cusecs.