Bantwal, Sep 24, 2014: If a government department has a office, one jeep and one driver, whether it could be a full-pledged sub division office of excise department? Certainly not! The excise department of Bantwal excise sub-division office needs a deputy superintendent including 9 personnel. Meanwhile, the office only has a lone driver and a jeep only. Yes indeed. The taluk excise department office is such a miserable stage. The state exchequer gets maximum revenue from excise department after sales tax, but their office in Bantwal is functioning in a rented building and with constraint of personnel.
The excise sub-division office located at Kaikunje near B C Road, here has one jeep and a driver. Ratnakar Rai, who was working as deputy superintendent at excise commissioner’s office at Mangalore sub-division has been functioning on deputation at Bantwal excise sub-division office here.
As per the norms, excise sub-division office should employ DySP, inspector, sub-inspector, chief excise personnel, 3 excise personnel, one driver and clerks. However, the office has one driver and a jeep.
Why its so..? None has answer. There was a deputy superintendent 2 years ago here, other officers who worked here for a few months managed to get transfers. The lone driver is trying to get transfer.
The taluk has 19 bar and restaurants, 6 lodges, 28 wine shops, one liquor shop of MSIL. Although bootlegging and rampant sale of fake liquors are not in much prevalence, country liquors are still sold in a few households and petty shops in rural villages. The ineffective excise department indirectly helps the thriving illicit trade.