Morcha displays ‘seized’ Sikkim liquor

Darjeeling, Aug. 6: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today put on display all the “illicit liquor” it had seized on Tuesday in an effort to build a positive public opinion on the work that the Gorkhaland Personnel has been doing “to bring about social reforms” in the hills.

Amar Lama, a central committee member of the Morcha, said the seized liquor would be handed over to the excise department.

The Morcha leadership dared K.L. Tamta, the north Bengal inspector-general of police, to arrest GLP members “who are working for the betterment of society”.

Reacting to Tamta’s announcement recently that police would act tough on GLP members stopping cars and conducting searches, Binay Tamang, the assistant secretary of the Morcha, said: “When we are doing something good for our society, Tamta is talking about action. Even if a single GLP member is arrested, there could be unrest in the hills and the state government along with Tamta will be responsible for it.”

The Morcha also said the GLP, its cell of uniformed volunteers who are paid Rs 1,500 a month, had every right to “assist the government” for the general good. “There is a clear provision in the CrPc which allows citizens to arrest people for the betterment of society. The fact that we could manage to seize so much illicit liquor on a single day suggests that the police and excise department are not doing their job. What are we to understand if Tamta is against us seizing such liquor. Does he want the trade to flourish?” asked Amar Lama.

The inspector-general admitted that the citizens had the right to put a stop to illegal activities. “But there should be a token police presence and the people have to requisition help from us. Nothing can be done unilaterally,” he said. Tamta had said GLP members found checking vehicles would be booked for wrongful confinement, obstruction of roads and even extortion. “Even the army and the paramilitary forces are not entitled to search randomly, then how can the GLP have the right,” he had said.

Deputy commissioner of excise (preventive) P.T. Bhutia said he did not know whether the law permitted citizens to seize liquor. “I will have to look up the rules, but carrying liquor for commercial purposes without proper papers and without paying the state concerned the revenue is illegal.”

Darjeeling district magistrate Surendra Gupta, however, said the GLP cannot seize liquor without authorisation. “And the excise department cannot accept the so-called seized liquor as doing that would mean that the government is putting an official stamp on the seizure,” Gupta said.

The Morcha maintained that it was “pained” at hearing adverse criticism from Sikkim on its activities. “The lobby of smugglers is strong everywhere. They are trying to start a misinformation campaign through the Sikkim media,” said Tamang.

Colonel (retired) Ramesh Allay, the chief of the GLP, said the display was the outcome of one day’s manning of the Sikkim border.

Danny Denzongpa's co acquires Assam's Rhino Breweries

Gangtok Aug03: Bollywood’s illustrious gangster Danny Denzongpa is bolstering his beer story in eastern India. Denzongpa-owned Yuksom Breweries has
acquired Rhino Breweries in Assam in a move thwarting industry leader United Breweries’ (UB) plans for a bigger play in North East (NE) markets, said sources.

This summer, Denzongpa quietly acquired Rhino Agencies, as his nearly three-decade-old Sikkimese brewing company scripted its first takeover to defend the core markets where it sells beers, such as Dansberg, Hit and He-Man.

Yuksom is learnt to have paid over Rs 40 crore for the brewery that started operations only two months back.
In 2007, UB had signed a technical consultancy and licence agreement with Guwahati-based Rhino Agencies to etch its manufacturing footprint in the rapidly growing NE market.

Denzongpa, who has starred in over 150 films including several memorable roles opposite Amitabh Bachchan, is showing the first signs of aggression, possibly to defend his home turf, after dabbling in the brewing industry from 1982 onwards.

A top Yuksom official confirmed the acquisition of Rhino Breweries, but declined to divulge further details of the development. “We are one of the leaders in NE, but we are just a small player otherwise,” said Madan Arora, executive director, Yuksom.
Denzongpa, who made a big screen comeback in a re-invented avatar this year, has characteristically kept his cards close to his chest while systematically building the NE market and even training his focus overseas with brews, such as Himalayan Blue and Yeti.
Yuksom, which has three breweries in Sikkim, Orissa and Assam, sells over three million cases making it one of the few independent survivors in an industry carved up between UB and SABMiller. It must be mentioned that UB is already well entrenched in West Bengal and had significantly raised its presence in Orissa last year.

Eastern India has emerged as an attractive market for brewers with sales reporting robust double-digit growth in recent years. With over 17 million cases in volume, eastern states now account for roughly 10% of the overall national consumption, pegged at 174 million cases in FY09.
Unlike the strong southern beer market, where the state governments reserve the right to price alcoholic beverages, eastern states have a flexible pricing system. The under-developed logistics and lower purchasing power of this market have, however, kept national brewers away so far, said an official working with a beer major