SHILLONG, Sep 6: Excise Minister, Kyrmen Shylla has defended the move of his department to allow the home delivery of liquor.
He told media persons on Monday that the department had come up with the idea of home delivery of liquor based on guidelines and norms.
“We have a set of norms like a person below a certain age will not be able to make an order and the delivery boy will check the identity card and other details of the consumer to make sure the person is not a minor,” Shylla said.
He said the department decided on making liquor available at people’s doorsteps following requests from the consumers.
“In fact, many consumers needed alcohol for medical reasons but there was no other option available during the pandemic,” the Minister said.
According to him, the initiative is not to generate revenue but ease the difficulty of consumers. If somebody wants to take liquor, nobody can stop it and if somebody does not want it, nobody can force it, he said.
The Congress has been critical of the decision. The party’s state unit president, Vincent Pala had earlier slammed Shylla saying the move would draw more youth to liquor and drugs and spoil them.
Shylla, who is also the Social Welfare Minister, heaped praise on former East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Vivekananda Singh and incumbent East Jaintia Hills Superintendent of Police, Jagpal Singh Dhanoa for their efforts in tackling the menace of drug abuse.
The Minister said the situation would have been worse in East Jaintia Hills if the police had not checked the menace with timely actions.
