Drones, chopper add pace to anti-liquor drive in Bihar amid hooch tragedies

The four-seater chopper, hired from Robinson Company, is mainly used in the riverine belt alongside the banks and a grid is being developed through mapping of the area, a senior police officer familiar with the developments said. On the basis of the grid, the anti-liquor drive is carried out from time to time.

The Bihar government is going all out to make prohibition a success in the state using a chopper and drones, even though a spate of suspected hooch tragedies has given the Opposition ammunition to attack the government both within the state legislature as well as outside.

Bihar may not have choppers for anti-Maoist operations in the state, but for surveillance on illegal trade and smuggling of liquor it has hired a chopper and 45 drones from different companies. (Image used for representation). (HT PHOTO.)

Even on Thursday, the Opposition did not allow the House to run apprehending hooch tragedies during Holi.

But that has not deterred the government, as it claims to have achieved fair success in checking the illegal liquor trade using chopper and drones as a support for law enforcing agencies.

It may not have choppers for anti-Maoist operations in the state, but for surveillance on illegal trade and smuggling of liquor it has hired a chopper and 45 drones from different companies. “No choppers or drones are used for policing despite the rising crime graph, but the government uses them for detecting liquor. It speaks of the government’s priorities,” said leader of opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav in course of the Budget session earlier this month.

Apart from Bihar, the Maoist-affected states of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh have helicopters for such use.

However, the prohibition and excise department is impressed with the use of drones in identifying the vulnerable spots. “Once identified, the department officials or local police zero in on at the specific place. The drones have been effective in a 10-km radius and can scan difficult terrains on the banks of rivers or sandy stretches alongside,” said an excise department official, adding the drones have been immensely successful in detecting country made liquor manufacturing units in far-flung places.

The drones capture images and video and the police analyse them to act on specific targets. “Its sensors capture the images of fire and the drones start circling around it. The official on condition of anonymity, told HT that a drone used in small district may be cost ₹15,000 while ₹25,000 per day cost for big district like Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur, Darbhanga etc.

“The drones are approved by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and have been deployed in different districts for surveillance. Since January 21, drones have helped seize 25.62-lakh quintal of Jawa-Mahua and 52,000 litres of illicit liquor,” he said.

He added that a drone helped to seize 8,600 kg of Jawa-Mahua from Choupran in Hazaribagh (Jharkhand). Jawa-Mahua is used to make locally brewed liquor.

The four-seater chopper, hired from Robinson Company, is mainly used in the riverine belt alongside the banks and a grid is being developed through mapping of the area, a senior police officer familiar with the developments said. On the basis of the grid, the anti-liquor drive is carried out from time to time.

Excise commissioner B Kartikye Dhanji said that so far, no company has been given any payment for drones and the chopper. Dhanji said the drones keep tabs on illegal brewing and inaccessible areas such as in forests, along the rivers and hilly areas.

Giving reasons for the use of drones, the excise commissioner said it helps them to verify the leads provided by locals. “With the help of drones, the location is traced easily even in forest areas. With the help of closed-circuit television camera installed in the drone, we will get the pictures of people involved in illegal liquor trade. The drones are handy in checking illicit liquor trade in far-flung areas,” Dhanji added.

“Bihar is considered to be a poor state, but Nitish Kumar is making provisions to track the liquor trade using helicopters. It is an expensive affair involving misuse of taxpayers’ money. The liquor ban has completely failed in Bihar,” said CPI MLA from Paliganj, Sandip Sourabh.