Illicit liquor unit raided in Odisha’s Athagarh; Bulldozers destroy several structures in mega operation

In one of the largest crackdowns on illegal country liquor distillation in recent times, authorities in Athagarh demolished multiple illicit liquor units operating in Koranga village under Athagarh police limits on Saturday.

The raid, led by the District Sub-Collector, was conducted with the support of the police, excise, and forest departments, in a coordinated move to curb the long-running trade.

Major Operation Targets Longstanding Liquor Network

Reports stated that the enforcement team, comprising Athagarh DSP, local police officials, the Excise Department’s Deputy Superintendent, and a platoon of armed forces, stormed the village early this morning.

Acting on longstanding complaints, they targeted country liquor distillation units that had been operating for months, allegedly supplying illegal liquor to various parts of Odisha.

Sources reported that by the time the team arrived, the operators had fled the site, abandoning the brewing setups. Heavy machinery, including bulldozers, was used to flatten the makeshift distillation structures as part of the administration’s directive to dismantle and destroy all such illegal units.

Monthly Raids Escalate into Full-Scale Crackdown

Officials confirmed that today's action was significantly more extensive than the routine, smaller-scale raids are a routine affair in the region.

“We raid such illegal distilleries every month, but they are smaller in size and do not need bulldozers to be demolished. However, this was a large-scale and high-priority operation. We’ve received reports that this village was a hub for supplying illegal liquor across the state,” said C H Tirupati, Deputy Superintendent of the Excise Department.

“More such operations will follow in the coming days,” he said, adding that under the new directives issued by the district administration, there is now a focused strategy to permanently disrupt the production and distribution networks.