mangaluru due to liquor shops remaining closed due to the lockdown the excise department is keeping a close watch on river islands in the district which are notorious for brewing country liquor which is illegal officials believe that the old practice of brewing country liquor may be revived on these islands due to high demand for alcohol as all liquor shops are closed across the state since the past three weeks these kudrus islands of kudla were once known as dens for brewing country liquor one among many infamous spots in the district for illicit liquor is adam kudru near jeppinamogaru mangaluru has about halfadozen kudrusthe authorities are carrying out frequent raids on these islands which have expert brewers as they fear they may go back to brewing country liquor due to a paucity of alcohol due to the lockdown there are chances of revival of the old illicit trade of county liquor and our officials are continuously monitoring all the areas which were once known for the sale of the same the islands stopped the practice of brewing country liquor about a decade ago but there are signs that huge demand for alcohol may push them to go back to the old trade said a senior official from the excise department these kudrus are hard to reach as one needs to cross the river using boats to get to them said another officiala few days ago dakshina kannada district policy arrested two people and seized 20 litres of illegal liquor in bantwal taluk they were allegedly brewing liquor at home and selling the sameliquor selling at premium ratesanother worry for the excise department is that liquor is selling at premium rates during the lockdown their office is flooded with several complaints according to sources liquor is being sold for two to three times more than the usual market price and transactions for the same are happening online through social media so far we have received about 80 complaints regarding the same however only one complaint was genuine said dakshina kannada excise deputy commissioner shailaja kote