GUWAHATI: In the wake of the recent hooch tragedy that claimed the lives of over 150 people in Upper Assam, the Department of Excise has tied up with Pune-based National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), which is a constituent of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to build a state-of-the-art chemical lab in Assam and to develop a low-cost handy testing kit to detect spurious liquor.
Additional Chief Secretary (Excise), Jishnu Barua and Excise Commissioner, Rakesh Kumar held a discussion with a team of scientists of the NCL on March 7.
The laboratory is said to be built under the Finance Department’s World Bank-funded ASPIRe (Assam State Public Finance Institutional Reforms) project at an estimated cost of Rs 4 crore.
The NCL will also develop and design a low-cost, simple testing kit, paper-based which will be used by both government agencies and the general public who want to consume alcoholic beverages. This kit will be made available at liquor shops and to the field staff of the Excise department and police.
(Inputs Assam Tribune)