Bihar Government imposes complete ban on alcohol

•  Bihar Government has taken a decision to completely ban on all types of liquor (alcohol) throughout the state including Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL).
• Earlier on 1st April 2016, state government had banned country made liquor in the state except IMFL in the first phase.
• Now in the second phase, foreign liquor (IMFL) will also be banned with immediate effect. The production, sale and business of all types of liquor have been banned in the state.
• Any person found indulging in manufacturing trade, transportation, sale and consumption of liquor across the state will be punished under the stringent provisions of the Bihar Excise (Amendment) Act, 2016.
• The Act has various stringent provisions including awarding ‘capital punishment’ for those who manufacture and sell illicit liquor that causes death.
• Bihar is now the fourth dry state after Gujarat, Kerala and Nagaland.

Analysis:

• The alcohol issue in Bihar stemmed from the Nitish Kumar government's decision to liberalise the state's liquor policy in 2007 which helped shore up the funds. Big business arrived in the state, but the move was extremely unpopular in various areas. In 2013, the women in Rohtas district, led by Sunita Singh, started the 'Pragatisheel Mahila Sangh' to campaign against liquor shops in the state. Alcoholism was a significant problem in the region and even children would get addicted.
• Thousands of men end up in hospital with alcohol-related diseases. According to a status report by the World Health Organization (WHO), 6.2 per cent of all male deaths globally are alcohol-related. Families with alcoholic men suffer poverty and ill health because the men drink away the income. They also suffer physical and mental abuse
• One of the biggest rationales behind alcohol ban was that it played a role in violence against women
• But in contrary , total ban will lead to revenue losses in a poor state like Bihar and will give rise to black market and underground production activities.
• The ban on alcohol usually hurts the lowest strata of society the most. In 2015 in Mumbai over a hundred people were killed after consuming illegal hooch. In the last decade, over a thousand people have died due to hooch-related issues in West Bengal (156 people in 2011), Gujarat (136 people in 2009), Karnataka and Tamil Nadu (180 dead in 2008), Odisha ( 200 dead in 1992) and the worst Karnataka in 1981 when over 300 people died due to methyl alcohol poisoning.
• The Beverage Corporation was a good strategy by the Government. It created jobs, and revenue. The workers will lose their jobs, even though they are promised with remuneration.
• States that have banned alcohol have struggled to cope with bootlegging problems as prohibition merely drives the alcohol production business underground, making it impossible for authorities to regulate it for quality and authenticity. The free flow of liquor across state borders and crime syndicates is a common sight in “dry” Gujarat.
• Though, prohibition of alcohol is not a complete solution, but yes, to a certain extent, we can say that ban on alcohol can reduce alcohol consumption. Maybe such a step by the Government will reduce the problems arising due to alcohol consumption like health issues, deaths, car crashes, domestic violence and marriage problems.

By: Vishal