State to become hooch-free in 2 months

BANGALORE: Excise Minister M P Renukacharya claimed he would make the state hooch free in the next two and- half months.Addressing reporters here on Thursday, Renukacharya said there were 1,970 hooch centres in the state before he took over the charge of ministry, which has now come down to 830 due to the persistent efforts of the department.“I have asked all my officers to destroy the remaining centres. If they do not do it in two months, serious action will be initiated against them, the minister added.He said that the department was also cracking down on ganja growers in the state.Till now, 132 people have been arrested for growing ganja trees and recovered 1,038 kg of ganja from them.Renukacharya who held a review meeting of his department on Wednesday said that in the first quarter of 2011-12, the department collected `2,400 crore excise revenue as against `2,175 crore during the corresponding period last year.He also expressed confidence at the department meeting its current year target of `9,200 crore.He said that all excise officers of the rank of inspector and above would be given p i s t o l s t o c o m b a t bootleggers.