Zeenews Bureau
Ahmedabad: Necessity is the mother of invention, so goes the adage, and it’s even truer when it comes to the innovativeness displayed by those who are always on the lookout to make a quick buck.
As is the case of the liquor mafia operating in India’s only “dry” state, Gujarat, who have devised a novel way to keep tipplers happy.
Their modus operandi is simple but seems to be very effective. They suck out all juice from inside the tomatoes using a surgical syringe and then refill them with costly Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL).
Bingo! Tomatoes that generally retail at Rs 20-30 per kg, now in their heady avatar, find takers even when sold at Rs 250-300 per kg.
Although the Gujarat Police is close on the heels of these “innovators” but they too are stumped when it comes to identifying the booze filled ones from the normal ones.
Gujarat has very tough laws on illegal liquor trade. In 2009, the State Assembly had passed a Bill proposing stringent punishment up to death penalty to deal with illicit liquor trade after a hooch tragedy claimed over 130 lives in the State.
First Published: Friday, February 11, 2011, 11:43