Bootleggers: clean sweep

Gujarat wants community service for prohibition violators.

Gandhians may recoil at the thought, but bootleggers and their dipsomaniac patrons in Gujarat, the only state where prohibition is in force, may soon be sweeping the floor at the Gandhi Ashram in Sabarmati, instead of facing a spell in the clink.

Faced with a huge backlog of cases "" 1.2 million at last count "" against the violators, Gujarat has apparently decided the threat of imprisonment is not deterrent enough. Pangs of guilt while cleaning up the ashram, where the Mahatma once walked, just might lead them back to the straight path, the government reckons.

"This is not an attempt to dilute the existing Act, rather it is an attempt to stop alcoholics from consuming liquor, which will also minimise, if not stop, liquor smuggling in Gujarat. There are hundreds of thousands of cases pending in various courts, and with its limited staff, the home department is finding it tough to fight the rising menace,"

Minister of State for Home and Prohibition Amit Shah told Business Standard on Wednesday.

The numbers clearly are stacked up against the state. In 2004, as many as 203,000 people were arrested under the Prohibition Act. In January 2005 alone, around 7,000 cases were registered, a pointer to where the tally is headed this year.

The move has, predictably, come under flak from the Opposition.

As the Mumbai Prohibition (Gujarat Amendment) Bill, 2005, was tabled in the state Assembly on Monday, the Congress called it an "attempt to protect the rich who consume alcohol".

Said a partyman, "Soon one can see a rich man alight from his Skoda, walk into the Gandhi Ashram, sweep the floors and walk home in a few hours."

Another Congress leader commented, "It is an attempt to appease the police-bootlegger nexus. The government should have ensured implementation of the Act strictly but with the amendment, it only makes it easier for the alcoholics and bootleggers."

Not everybody is critical of the proposed amendment. Praful Shah, a septuagenarian Gandhian, feels alcoholics and others involved in the illegal trade might actually be reformed after doing community service. "These people may later be sent to des-addiction centres," he suggests.

But we will give the consumer the last word. A hard-core alcoholic, working with a reputed multinational firm, said, "Rendering community service is a much better option than going to jail. At least, I will be able to do something that benefits society. And by the way, who says consumption of liquor is a sin? There are temples in India where liquor is offered." He smiles and speeds off in his car, perhaps in search of another bottle.