Collection of samples from toddy shops for quality tests has been reduced to a futile exercise thanks to the inordinate delay in getting the examination results and the absence of on-the-spot testing facilities.
Sample collection is being done regularly without fail since excise officials from the level of preventive officers have been set targets to collect a specified number of samples from their respective ranges every month. For instance, 341 samples were collected from toddy shops spread over 15 ranges in Ernakulam district this November alone. However, the regularity with which samples are being collected is missing when it comes to getting their examination results promptly. “The collection of samples has almost become absurd considering that it fails to serve the purpose of ensuring the supply of quality toddy. We simply collect the sample and leave while the lab report of the test may take months and even years, which means that the sale in toddy shops continue unhindered irrespective of the quality of the toddy served,” sources told The Hindu .
The absence of on-the-spot mechanism has been quite a handicap for excise officials. Even an alcohol meter that helps to detect quality of liquor and arrack doesn’t work in the case of toddy unless the quality is really bad.
The State has only one mobile lab, which is primarily for the south zone, while a second one for the central zone, including Ernakulam, Idukki, Palakkad, and Thrissur districts is said to be on the anvil.
However, even that is not a foolproof mechanism and the relatively long duration for getting samples tested restricts the process to a limited number of samples a day. “Even when the mobile lab prima facie detects quality issues, it will not survive legal scrutiny unless it is substantiated from one of the three regional laboratories in Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram or Kozhikode by an official not below the rank of assistant chemical examiner,” sources said.
Meanwhile, there seems to be no end to the plight of the excise department in the district reeling under pathetic infrastructure facilities. While the deputy excise commissioner is supposed to seal and keep one sample for every samples dispatched for testing, lack of space means that the deputy commissioner is forced to return them to the ranges concerned.
With the construction of the new excise complex, which was supposed to be complete by now, nowhere near completion, the department has no other alternative but to continue in a rented facility. As the rent has not been paid for the last three years, there is no guarantee that the department will be able to find another space even if they want to move to a better facility.
