Booze supply hits the hafta hurdle

Liquor lovers in the city are getting restless because elections are over but they are still finding it difficult to get their daily fix. During the elections, entry of illicit liquor into this dry state had been reduced to a trickle because of the heavy police presence all over the state. But the bootleggers had assured their regular customers that liquor would flow freely (though illegally) once again, as soon as the polls were over. Strangely, this has not happened.

Explaining the phenomenon, sources close to the business said that the ‘hafta’ (weekly bribe paid to the police) that bootleggers allegedly pay to the cops to be allowed to sell liquor illegally, is mainly to blame for the paucity of illicit liquor in the city.

“Bootleggers have to pay hafta to the police, starting from the first of every month,” a bootlegger told DNA on the condition of anonymity. “Unfortunately, the elections have ended in the middle of the month, which is why no bootlegger is willing to start his trade. If he does so, he will have to pay hafta at the rate of Rs3 lakh per week.

No bootlegger is willing to shell out this amount right now because, after a break, it takes time to re-establish contact with clients and earn money. It is easier to pay Rs12 in installments over a month than Rs3 lakh per week for just a fortnight.”

A source in the police confirmed what the bootlegger had to say. Another bootlegger said that another reason why liquor is hard to find in the city these days is that most of the big bootleggers are either behind bars under Pasa or don’t want to start their illegal trade yet. “No one is ready to return to the trade before June 1,” he said.