'98 percent of T'gana free of illicit distilled liquor menace'

Ninety eight per cent of Telangana is free of the menace of illicit distilled liquor and the state government is determined to put down the evil, Excise and Prohibition Minister T Padmarao told the Legislative Assembly today.
"As on date, 98 per cent of Telangana is free from the manufacture, transport, and sale of illicit distilled liquor/Gudumba," he said, during a debate on eradication of illicit distilled liquor, popular as 'Gudumba' in the state, in the House.
Opposition BJP announced 'walk out' from the House at the end of the debate, alleging that the state government has turned Excise department into one that promoted liquor consumption.

Charging that the previous governments did not do enough to check the menace of illicit distilled liquor, the minister said the present government launched a war against Gudumba on September 1, 2015.
He said 89 persons have been booked under the PD (Preventive Detention) Act as on date.
People who indulged in illegal activity in the past were 'bound over' under the security sections of CrPC, he said.

The battle is not an enforcement activity but is a social campaign in a holistic way to eradicate the menace from the root, the minister said.
He responded positively to BJP MLA Raja Singh's demand that a special package be announced for the rehabilitation of those involved in the 'Gudumba' activity at Dhoolpet under his constituency of Goshamahal here.

BJP floor leader G Kishan Reddy talked about spread of the menace of liquor in the state.
There are as many as 20,000 unauthorised liquor vends in the state and that thousands of students, including high school children, got habituated to liquor consumption, he claimed.
"Liquor sales is high in Telangana compared to other states," the BJP leader said.
Alleging that the state government has not said anything on the illegal liquor vends and other problems, he announced walk out by his party members after which the House was adjourned for the day.