An excise department team has been deployed near Kathpula for the Garhmukteshwar Ganga Mela to prevent illicit and outside liquor from entering the fair, but it is facing public criticism for alleged inaction. Despite an excise tent being set up at the location since October 25, the team has reportedly not seized a single bottle of liquor.
The Garhmukteshwar Ganga Mela is a major center of faith, drawing more than 3,000,000 devotees for a holy dip in the Ganga. An excise team is deployed by the police administration to stop miscreants from selling or consuming alcohol at the religious event.
The team's camp office is strategically located near Kathpula, a route used by an estimated 90 percent of people attending the fair. However, this deployment has become a "topic of discussion among the public" due to the team's perceived work ethic. They are reportedly seen sitting in front of the tent in the cold mornings and moving chairs behind the tent to "relax" in the afternoon shade.
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This lack of enforcement at the camp is contrasted with reports of alcohol being consumed openly in many parts of the fair. On Monday, youths were seen consuming alcohol openly on the banks of the Ganga, just 200 meters from the excise camp on the main route to the fair.
While the team at the camp has not reported seizures, the department did seize liters of illicit liquor in the Bhagwantpur forest three days ago.
In response to the situation at the mela, Excise Inspector Priyanka Gupta stated that the team "has not found a single bottle of liquor so far."
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