The Odisha excise department has announced creation of a ₹100- crore fund to educate people about the ill-effects of drinking alcohol and consuming drugs or other narcotics items.
The Odisha excise department has announced the excise policy for the current financial year. (Representational image)
The department, which announced the excise policy for the current financial year, said a specialised agency would be engaged for developing a multimedia campaign to start awareness drive with the help of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) members, civil society, NGOs and youth clubs/volunteers etc. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in its manifesto for the Assembly polls this year had promised prohibition, if elected to power.
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The new excise policy said that no new IMFL (Indian-made foreign liquor) off-shop, country liquor shop and out-still liquor shop will be opened in Odisha during the current financial year. It also said no new liquor on-shops will be opened in rural areas of the state except in three-star or above category hotels. It said licences of 57 on-shops which were not renewed earlier will not be considered for renewal this year too. Besides, there will be no increase in the minimum guaranteed quota in the current financial year.
The policy has also stopped allowing dance performance on the premises of any on-shop. However, the on-shops may conduct musical performance or orchestra within their licenced premises after obtaining necessary permission. The policy said on-shop licence will be granted to Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC)/ India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) hotels at half the rates applicable for licence fee, based on their locations. For promoting tourism, serving of liquor in beach shacks would be allowed.
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.
