A WhatsApp message is doing the rounds, suggesting that the liquor crisis can be resolved if only the state government has the gumption to pull out near-dysfunctional buses form KSRTC depots and stuff them with bottles of liquor to be sold at safe venues, conforming to the apex court’s distance limits and provisions of the Abkari law.
The message says KSRTC has a dud fleet, now confined to depots. They could be reconditioned and restored to running condition. A bus driver and a salesman would do for crew to dispense the liquor after the bus pulls up at designated places, away from national highways, State highways, educational institutions and places of worship.
Just 1,000 buses for 1,000 panchayts. Like the KSEBL, which notifies in advance the power disruption times, Bevco could announce schedules and venues in advance. KSRTC and Bevco could even hammer out a profit sharing formula. This would bale out Bevco from its current crisis and help it serve customers better by getting rid of queues and above all, taking the stuff closer to the needy. The mobile service could ply between 9 am and 9 pm.
This might appear a simplistic solution but the fact is that many customers who trek long distances from the countryside and stand in daylong queues in the hot sun to fetch liquor from downtown Bevco shops would feel they have got justice at last. Those who have KSRTC tickets could even be considered for a 5 percent discount. The bottom line: “Tipplers not only down the stuff, they even know how to bale out sinking companies”.
When contacted, Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac told media that he would not comment on this specific proposal, but the Government had an open mind to suggestions on how to redeem the current situation.
