Shane Warne initiative stirs Assam Excise dept to rope in liquor firms for manufacturing hand sanitisers

 Cricket legend Shane Warne has inspired generations to swing the ball in the game of cricket, but he had never thought that someday he would motivate Assam's Excise department to rope in liquor companies to manufacture alcohol-based hand sanitisers for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. When the state Health department informed that there was an acute shortage of hand sanitisers and protective masks, the Excise department came out with an idea to engage the liquor manufacturers to produce it, as medical gradesanitisers contain 70 per cent alcohol.

"In this regard, the Excise department took a cue from the laudable initiative taken by the Australian cricket legend  Shane Warne owned liquor company, which stopped manufacturing gin and started producing hand sanitisers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic," Assam Excise minister Parimal Suklabaidya told PTI here.

Last month, Shane Warne had announced that his firm 'SevenZeroEight Gin' started producing medical grade hand sanitisers, having 70 per cent alcohol, for two Western Australian hospitals. The worldwide crisis caused by COVID-19 has paralysed normal life in the country and Assam is no exception, the minister said. "There was a big demand for hand sanitisers, but the state has been witnessing a shortage of quality sanitisers,"

In order to make quality hand sanitisers available to the public free of cost, the Health department had requested the Excise department to explore the possibility of involving the liquor companies to produce ethanol-based sanitisers based on the guidelines of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

"Following a series of discussions, the liquor manufacturing companies in Assam have undertaken a project of producing ethanol-based high quality hand sanitisers in various locations of the state. We have tied up with 11 liquor firms and instructed them to produce five crore bottles of 200 ml," the minister said. Excise Commissioner Rakesh Kumar informed that under this initiative, the liquor makers have also agreed to supply two lakh litres of hand sanitisers to the Health department free of cost under their CSR schemes and the supply has already begun.

"As per the agreement, they will supply an estimated 20 lakh litres of sanitisers at a nominal cost on a no-profit basis in different sizes such as 180 ml, 200 ml, 300 ml, 500 ml and 600 ml. The cost of a 200 ml pet bottle is Rs 16 only," he added. Meanwhile, Barak Valley-based Surma Distillery has already dispatched 50 cartons of hand sanitisers to the Silchar Medical College and Hospital, which has been turned into a dedicated COVID-19 facility. The other firms are Pragati Liquor Industries, Rooby Spirits, Aroma India, Spray Bottles, North East Distilleries, Seven Sister Trade & Distilleries, Centenary Distilleries, Associated Alcohol & Beverages Company, Brahmaputra Biochem and Radiant Manufacturers.

The Excise minister's PRO Shailendra Pandey said that the sanitiser bottles will be sent to neighbouring Manipur and Nagaland, besides catering to Assam's demand. The Excise department is also distributing the sanitisers free of cost among the poor people in slums across Assam, he added.

"The free distribution of sanitisers in this time of crisis will ensure proper hygiene and sanitisation of the people from the economically backward section. "We are also distributing the sanitisers free of cost to police, media and other frontline warriors," Pandey said. Suklabaidya said, in addition to making sanitisers, the Excise department has swung into action by intensifying its enforcement drives across the state to prevent distillation and trade of illicit and spurious liquor. "The prevalence of illicit and spurious liquor has been a challenge for the Excise department as it poses danger to the safety of human health.

Any lack of control on the trade and consumption of such harmful liquor may claim more lives even before any lives are lost due to possible infection by the novel coronavirus," he added.