Dhenkanal: In a massive crackdown on illicit liquor trade, the Dhenkanal district administration carried out a major excise raid at the base of Ragada Dam and nearby villages of Godisahi and Tubhinali, located on the Jajpur–Dhenkanal border.
During the operation, officials seized 4,000 litres of freshly brewed mahuli (country liquor) and 5,000 litres of fermented mahua pocha (fermented wash), the raw material used for brewing liquor. The team also destroyed 32 distillation units and confiscated 80 aluminium pots and 80 plastic drums that had been buried underground for storage.
Excise officials, accompanied by armed police, waded through water and dug out buried drums with shovels before destroying and burning the seized items.
The raid was conducted under the supervision of Kamakhyanagar Assistant Collector and Magistrate Kamala Mallick and led by Excise Inspector Prakash Kumar Sahu. Despite the heavy police presence, over a hundred members of the liquor mafia managed to flee the site, taking advantage of the terrain and canal network.
From the residence of Sharat Mahanta in Godisahi, officials also recovered 1,000 litres of mahua pocha and 150 litres of illicit liquor.
The Ragada Dam area, just three kilometres from Kaliapani police station, has long been notorious as a stronghold of the liquor mafia, with their dominance extending for over five decades. Although multiple raids have been attempted in recent years, enforcement agencies often faced resistance. In November 2020, villagers even surrounded officials and forcibly reclaimed seized materials.
This latest raid was executed on the directives of Dhenkanal Collector Ashish Ishwar Patil, SP Abhinav Sonkar, and Excise Superintendent Arya Sabhyata Ray. It involved Excise personnel from Kamakhyanagar, Bhuban, Parjang, and Tumusinga stations, assisted by a 60-member armed police team.
Authorities described the raid as a significant blow to the liquor mafia that has operated with impunity in the Ragada Dam region for decades.
