A phased roll-out of prohibition will hit revenues of companies, which get 5% of their volume sales from the state
The point made by sociologist M N Srinivas, that it represented a Sanskritic act that was linked to caste, is never raised in Indian debates and the disapproval of drink is almost universal, notes Aakar Patel.
Five years after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar imposed total prohibition in Bihar, the liquor mafia continues to thrive, reports MI Khan.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has uncovered "multiple irregularities" in the operations of TASMAC, the state-run monopoly controlling liquor trade in Tamil Nadu. The agency found evidence of "manipulation" in tender processes and "unaccounted" cash transactions worth Rs 1,000 crore through distillery companies. The ED alleges that these irregularities involved "kickbacks" to secure increased supply orders from TASMAC and systematic inflation of expenses by distillery companies to siphon off unaccounted cash.
The NDA in Bihar, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, strategically countered the Mahagathbandan's moves by implementing similar policies and announcements, effectively neutralising the MGB campaign promises and maintaining their political advantage.
'The campaign by the Mahagathbandan has failed to capture the imagination of the electorate given the fatigue factor with the Nitish government.'
The ban is also estimated to have prevented 18 lakh men in the state from becoming overweight or obese, it said.
Former Jharkhand chief minister Shibu Soren is on ventilator support in critical condition. Jharkhand Education Minister Ramdas Soren was airlifted to Delhi after suffering a brain stroke.
A proposal to change the name of Mount Abu, Rajasthan's only hill station, to "Aburaj Teerth" and ban non-vegetarian food and alcohol consumption in public has sparked protests from local businesses, who fear severe economic consequences. They argue that the name change will cause confusion and the restrictions will drastically reduce tourist numbers, impacting livelihoods.
The government has not divulged the amount of the fine to be imposed on first-time offenders.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has criticized the Maharashtra state excise department for operational lapses that led to a significant revenue shortfall. The report cites incorrect fee assessments, failure to implement revised rates, and other irregularities.
Chief Minister M K Stalin has ordered a CB-CID probe to ensure comprehensive investigation and the government transferred Kallakurichi District Collector Sravan Kumar Jatavath and Superintendent of Police Samay Singh Meena was suspended, a statement said.
The government denied granting permission to serve liquor at wedding halls, even as the opposition parties slammed the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's move to dilute the total prohibition policy.
According to the officials, generally, a passenger is not served more than 100 ml of liquor during a flight.
A senior CPI-M leader said there is no comparison between Sangh Parivar's demand for a complete ban on beef and Catholic Church's call for a ban on liquor.
Eighteen more people lost their lives after allegedly consuming illicit liquor in dry Bihar's Siwan and Saran districts, taking the toll in the tragedy to 24, officials said on Thursday.
Bharti has been demanding appropriate amendments in liquor policy, which the state government releases every year, and incorporating more controls to promote de-addiction.
The party was floated exactly two years after Kishor had embarked on a more than 3,000-km-long 'padayatra' of the state.
Ironically, rival Tamil Nadu governments expend the most on social welfare schemes, especially targeting women and youth and children, but that money comes only by selling more liquor. There is always the specious plea, which has been peddled very many times in the past, that without licensed liquor, drinkers would go after hooch and there could be more hooch tragedies and hooch deaths. No one is convinced, but no one can dispute it either, comments N Sathiya Moorthy.
THE BJP sought an apology from him for "defaming" Gujarat and for promoting alcohol consumption.
If purists are surprised as to why and how people are not demanding prohibition or not talking about past promises, both in the election manifestos five years back and even those made to the courts, the answer lies in how the state has been evolving and changing these past few years, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Empty bottles of liquor were discovered inside the premises of the legislature in dry Bihar, in a fresh embarrassment to the Nitish Kumar government in the state, which has been drawing flak over recent hooch tragedies that have claimed more than 40 lives.
The annual festival, which used to attract millions of devotees from and outside the country to the hill shrine, begins on November 17 and concludes on January 15, 2023.
Under siege, Nitish plans to tweak Bihar's anti-booze law
The Bihar police will soon put to use Artificial intelligence technology to nab people involved in illegal liquor trade and other crimes, a senior police officer said on Friday.
The bench was hearing three petitions on the issue, including the one filed by the International Spirits and Wines Association of India.
Social media influencer Orhan Awatramani, known as Orry, and seven others were booked for allegedly consuming alcohol at a hotel in Katra, the base camp for the pilgrimage to Mata Vaishno Devi shrine. The FIR was registered for violating the law and hurting religious sentiments. The hotel reportedly prohibits alcohol and non-vegetarian food due to its proximity to the shrine.
Prohibition is resulting in prisons getting overcrowded.
Taking a swipe at DMK president's statement that the party would take steps to implement prohibition if voted to power in the next elections, AIADMK said it was done with an eye on polls.
The order, issued by the Home Department, will come into effect only after guidelines are finalised, said a senior official.
Do the thought leaders and policy makers (and presumed enforcers) have the courage to decide which way to go? I do not think they have. But the farce should end one day.
A bill providing for up to capital punishment to those manufacturing or trading illicit liquor in the event of hooch tragedy was on Wednesday unanimously passed by both Bihar legislature which also adopted a resolution unanimously that its members will not consume liquor.
Asserting that liquor consumption is a social stigma, Nitish said that prohibition would improve society.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday reiterated that his government is committed to enforce liquor ban or prohibition in the state. M I Khan/ Rediff.com report from Patna.
The rush for prohibition and the Supreme Court's decision to ban liquor sales within 500 metres from highways have hurt companies.
State after state has imposed an alcohol ban, and has had to retreat, unable to address the financial and administrative fallout. Are we set for more of this cycle, asks Aditi Phadnis.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Uma Bharti threw cow dung at a liquor shop in Orchha town of Madhya Pradesh's Niwari district, amid her demand for total prohibition in the party-ruled state.
The Nitish Kumar-led government prohibited liquor in the state on April 5 this year, making it the fourth dry state in the country after Gujarat, Kerala and Nagaland.
Protester Sasi Perumal's death has given a new fillip to the pro-prohibition movement, which was beginning to draw attention across Tamil Nadu after different political parties began to make it a part of their poll manifesto for next year, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
CM Trivendra Singh Rawat cancels licences of the two government-controlled liquor shops in his constituency. The state government is facing an uphill task in opening new shops in face of widespread agitation by women.
