With liquor shops shut during the lockdown period, people looking to be in ‘high spirits’ have turned to gudumba or illicitly distilled (ID) liquor.
Production of the old form of intoxicant was almost wiped out in Telangana over three years ago. However, between March 22 and April 26, Telangana Prohibition and Excise department officials have seized 7,319 litres of gudumba across the State. This is more than the 6,705 litres of Indian Made Liquor (IML) such as rum and whisky that was seized during the lockdown. Officials also seized 9,184 litres of beer in this period.
For the ID liquor, people are shelling out four to five times more than the usual price of ₹70 to ₹100 per litre. These sky-high prices are usually paid to buy beer or IML.
Against this backdrop, Prohibition and Excise Minister V. Srinivas Goud has directed officials to curtail sale of gudumba and black jaggery, a key ingredient in preparation of the ID liquor.
Former ‘experts’ in preparation of the ID liquor are under the radar of the officials. “However, amateurs too are preparing it. So, we are more vigilant about them,” said a senior official from the department.
“The process of preparing it needs loads of water. The source could be a water tap too. Usually, on the outskirts, people choose a place between thick shrubs as their hideout. But gudumba is prepared even in homes,” said another official from the department.
The department’s staff have destroyed 1.25 lakh litres of fermented jaggery wash, an intermediate product in preparation of the ID liquor.
Mr Goud opined that due to lockdown and temporary suspension of sale of liquor through wine shops, bars and clubs, people addicted to alcohol have turned to gudumba, resulting in reports of illegal manufacture and sale of ID liquor.
In Hyderabad, Dhoolpet is under focus. In fact, officials have caught over 60 people involved in preparation of the ID liquor. The Excise Minister has instructed officials to book cases, if necessary, under PD Act against people who resort to grave violations in illegal gudumba sale.
Ganja sale
With the lockdown strictly restricting the movement of people, officials opined that peddlers who had stash of ‘ganja’ might have sold it out by now. They are expecting that huge quantities of ‘grass’ would be smuggled through State borders after lockdown is lifted.
“Ganja too is sold at a high cost. Earlier, 10 grams of it was sold for ₹100. We got to know that the same quantity was being sold for ₹400 to ₹500 during the lockdown,” said an official from the department.
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