Liquor ban in phases to be more effective: Nitish Kumar

Clarifying the issue of a liquor ban in Bihar, chief minister Nitish Kumar said that “the government will impose a complete ban on liquor, but in phases”. The statement was made while launching a “Campaign for Prohibition of Liquor in Bihar” in Patna on Thursday.

The chief minister said the decision to impose a ban on liquor in phases was taken to make prohibition more effective. The government, according to Mr Kumar, will ban country-made and spiced liquor in the first phase, and then, in the second phase, all Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL).

Though he didn’t give any specific date for banning of IMFL brands in Bihar, he said, “Total prohibition of liquor is our target and we will do it. We have planned to ban liquor in phases only to make it more effective,” CM Nitish Kumar said.

He also directed officials to launch a massive crackdown against those who violate the excise policy that will come into effect from April 1 this year. “We will move ahead in the direction of banning all kinds of liquor, but in phases as we also have challenges to inform people about the harm it does to society,” the chief minister said.

The government, he said, also plans to launch awareness programmes on a large scale and has given clearance for rehabilitation and de-addiction centres throughout the state. He said a decision to enforce the ban in the state was taken after women, mostly from rural backgrounds, had come forward with the demand to ban liquor as it affected them directly.

“We have already gone through several phases of meetings on the issue so there is no scope of turning back,” he said while criticising the Opposition who, he said, tried to create a controversy when he decided to ban liquor in phases.