Cuttack: In view of low liquor stocks across the state and expected high-demand post lockdown, excise commissioner Anjan Kumar Manik has written to 11 collectors urging them to allow operations in bottling plants, distilleries and breweries.
Manik has written to collectors of Dhenkanal, Ganjam, Jajpur, Rayagada, Sambalpur, Puri, Khurda, Koraput, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack and Bolangir in this context.
In his letter, the commissioner mentions that the bottling plants, distilleries and breweries need to resume operation to meet the post-lockdown demand. The existing stock of different kinds of liquor in shops and Odisha State Beverages Corporation Limited (OSBCL) is not enough, he argues.
Manik also clarified in his letter that the plants can start operation with 50 per cent workforce with employees wearing mask, maintaining social distance and abiding by other lockdown guidelines.
Notably, the commissioner had written a letter to principal secretary of excise department SK Lohani in this regard May 2 and sought permission from the state government for the opening of the plants.
There are 12 bottling plants, five breweries, and two distilleries in the state which are lying closed since March 25 following the declaration of nationwide lockdown.
PNN
