Jeypore: The alleged encouragement of liquor sale by the state government to boost revenue collection has resulted in 531 deaths and 1,236 injury cases due to drunken driving in 2016, according to a report.
The number of death and injured was just seven and 120 respectively in Kerala, the lowest among all states in India, it added.
In neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, the drunken driving death was 45 while 140 sustained injuries which are much less than what recorded in Orissa, it was learnt.
Similarly, 55 persons died and 172 got injured in Telangana while Tamil Nadu recorded 65 death and 677 injury cases during the period. The respective number of deaths and injuries was 94 and 359 in Karnataka.
On the other hand, the total number of road mishap cases registered due to drunken driving last year was – 1,255 in Orissa, 531 in Tamil Nadu, 396 in Karnataka, 202 in Telangana, 128 in Andhra Pradesh and 133 in Kerala.
Supreme Court, in December last year, heard a case and asked all the states to evict all existing liquor shops within 500 mt radius of National and state highways. The court asked the states to carry out the order by 31st March 2017.
Taking the matter seriously, additional chief secretary Bishnupada Sethi, following a high level meeting at the secretariat, asked the excise officials to execute the apex court ruling. Accordingly, 15 foreign liquor (FL) off shops, 4 FL-on shops in hotels, 3 FL-on shops in restaurants, five liquor dens along highways and 13 other shops were asked to down their shutters in Koraput district.
The state has about 3,900 liquor shops along the National and state highways and more than 1,700 were affected by the SC order. According to an estimation, the state government was stood to lose nearly Rs1,100 crore towards excise revenues by this ruling.
Meanwhile, some states approached the apex court requesting to reduce the distance of liquor shops from the highways and to give some liberties to bars and restaurants.
As the court took a lenient view on the issue, the closed shops along the highways have been opened again. This apart, liquors are freely available in roadside hotels, tea stalls, and ration shops in Koraput district.
It is alleged that the government has failed miserably in checking the flood of liquor in the district.
Protesting the sale of liquor, congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati has announced the launch of an anti-liquor drive from October 10 in Borigumma block of the district. PNN