Que 2) It is a State where prohibition is in force. You are recently appointed as the Superintendent of Police of a district notorious for illicit distillation of liquor. The illicit liquor leads to many deaths, reported and unreported, and causes a major problem for the district authorities. The approach till now had been to view it as a law-and-order problem and tackle it accordingly. Raids, arrest, police cases, and criminal trials – all these had only limited impact. The problem remains as serious as ever.
Your inspections show that the parts of the district where the distillation flourishes are economically, industrially and educationally backward. Agriculture is badly affected by poor irrigation facilities. Frequent clashes among communities gave boost to illicit distillation. No major initiatives had taken place in the past either from the government’s side or from social organizations to improve the lot of the people.
Which new approach will you adopt to bring the problem under control?
The given case deals with the menace of illicit distillation of liquor which has led to many deaths. Raids, arrests and police cases have not yielded satisfactory results. Thus there is a need to look at the problem through a broader perspective
Issues affecting the district
-poor economic development
-poor agricultural conditions and irrigation facilities
-lack of community cohesion
-insignificant presence of Civil Society Organizations (CSO), SHG, NGOs
As the superintendent of police, I will take following steps to curb the illicit distillation of liquor and its effects
1) De-addiction Centers
-From Psychological perspective, it is often observed that those facing hardship find refuge in intoxication and drug addiction. Thus, in co-ordination with local administration de-addiction centers would be established
-CSO could be roped in to keep a regular check on the functioning of these centers and to suggest any improvements if needed.
2) Agriculture & Irrigation facilities
-Local people need to be made aware of agricultural schemes by government like – Micro irrigation scheme (drip irrigation), PM-Kisan, National Honey Mission, National Bamboo Mission etc.
-Also efforts need to be made to persuade district irrigation department to provide solutions to irrigation issues in the district
3) Economic and Education Activities
-Farmers need to be organized in FPO and SHG to strengthen their collective bargaining (one district one product scheme)
-Active advertisement of schemes by KVIC and loan availability through regional rural banks etc
-Focus needs to be laid on children who lost their family members to addiction. Arrangements need to be made for their counseling and educational support ( Anganwadi & local school admissions)
4)Civil Society Organizations
-Administration alone can\’t solve the issue and people\’s participation via CSO, SHG & NGOs is important
-They can promote harmony among communities via dramas, plays etc
-Women NGOs can inform police about addiction in their families and from where they procure alcohol
All of above efforts will curb the demand for liquor. Focusing only on law & order aspect of illicit alcohol issue won\’t take us far, thus, we need to look beyond and find a holistic solution. Socio – economic development of masses will effectively curb the menace of illicit alcohol and improve the quality of life of the masses.
