With distilling hooch for panchayat polls on rise, forest dept fears jumbo attacks (State of Uttar Pradesh, India)
With distilling hooch for panchayat polls on rise, forest dept fears jumbo
attacks (State of Uttar Pradesh, India)
Harveer Dabas, The Times of India
January 4, 2021
BIJNOR: Manufacturing of country liquor in the Ganga khadar (riverbank)
region of Bijnor has picked up, with panchayat elections round the corner
in UP. The forest department is alarmed with the activity, as elephants get
attracted to the smell of liquor. “We’re already witnessing a rise in the
number of elephants straying into the Badhapur area, and the primary reason
is illicit liquor manufacturing in the area. We’ve urged the police and
excise departments to increase patrolling and curb the activity, or it
could have dangerous consequences.”
There are 1,128 village panchayats in Bijnor district. With the bugle of
panchayat elections sounded, there is a tug of war between claimants for
the post of village head. Contenders are flexing muscles, with many of them
setting up offices in their respective villages to woo voters by
distributing liquor. In the rural areas, liquor plays a bigger role than
muscle power or other inducement during polls.
After sunset, villagers roaming about inebriated has become a common sight.
To exploit the poll season demand, liquor mafias have set up distilleries
in the khadar along the Ganges and its tributaries, and near forests,
because they are less patrolled by cops. Panchayat pradhan contenders fix
deals with the liquor mafias to supply cheap, illicit liquor with fake
labels of popular brands.
In the wake of recent deaths from consuming illicit liquor in Bulandshahr,
forest and police departments are concerned. Police have already launched a
special operation against the liquor mafia. According to Bijnor SP
Dharamveer Singh, “Police have unearthed several illegal liquor units in
the past few days.
A dozen people have been arrested. Most mafias set up units close to forest
or khaddar, as they are relatively inaccessible and hard for police to
patrol, but we’re targeting such areas now.”
Not only is binging on illicit liquor harmful to health, they also pose a
threat to wildlife. According to forest officials, the smell of hooch from
illegal distilleries near forests attracts elephants, monkeys and wild
boars, which go on rampage after consuming the raw materials used in making
the hooch, as well as the hooch.
Some years ago, a herd of elephants went on a rampage in Tehar and broke
the wall of a school in the night. Recently, six jumbos entered farms in
Meduwala village under Barhapur range.
“We’ve already put our staff on alert. If any person is found indulging in
manufacture of hooch close to forests, action will be taken against them,”
said M Semmaran, Bijnor divisional forest officer.