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.
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.
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.
This incident has again exposed that despite prohibition being in force in Bihar, alcohol is still available in the black market and that the liquor mafia is very much active
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.
'Both the AIADMK and DMK are promising prohibition, but where is the road map? Jayalalithaa is not giving a blueprint for her phased prohibition and Karunanidhi is not talking about a draft bill for the same. This is nothing but empty election rhetoric.'
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam might have been pushed into a corner to come up with a prohibition policy of its own, if only to create the right atmosphere for talking about an Opposition coalition in the state, says N Sathiya Moorthy
A nod has been given for the proposed amendments to be tabled in the monsoon session of the state legislature scheduled later this month.
The Bihar government has challenged the high court verdict of September 30 which had quashed the notification banning consumption and sale of liquor in the state.
The state government has introduced a new, more prohibition stringent law
Andhra Pradesh, once a model state with total prohibition, has witnessed a tremendous increase in the consumption of liquor. In spite of a growing movement against small liquor shops in the rural areas, 60,000 people have filed tender applications for the 6,800 retail liquor shops in the state, aiming to cash in on the lucrative business.Twelve years after total prohibition was lifted by the then Chandrababu Naidu government, Andhra Pradesh is one of the largest consumers.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has predicted that JD(U) president Nitish Kumar will contest the upcoming assembly polls in Bihar in alliance with the BJP but may switch sides later, with hopes for another term as the chief minister. Kishor, founder of the Jan Suraaj Party, also asserted that Kumar's popularity has declined and he is unlikely to win a fifth consecutive term. He challenged the BJP to declare Kumar as the chief ministerial candidate, arguing that they would struggle to win seats if they did so. Kishor also criticized Kumar's leadership, accusing him of being "physically tired and mentally retired" and of "bringing disrepute to Bihar" by touching Prime Minister Narendra Modi's feet. He said his new party will enter the fray to pull Bihar "out of the political rut" and that the state's much-touted prohibition policy is an example of the BJP's duplicity.
TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu consistently emphasises, among others, the issue during his campaign, alleging that the state has been supplying poor quality liquor while profiting immensely from 'inflated' prices, running to thousands of crores of rupees.
Election strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor on Thursday claimed to have told Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar that the state's much-touted liquor prohibition drive has been a "complete failure", and in need of a "review".
Almost 70 per cent of alcohol distribution in India happens through liquor vends or shops, while 30 per cent happens on-premise, that is, in bars, pubs, and hotels.
An ex-serviceman A N Singh filed the PIL in the Patna high court, a day after the Nitish Kumar ministry declared Bihar a total dry state.
Several states that imposed prohibition in the past lifted it once revenue loss began to pinch
The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea seeking to revert to paper ballot voting in elections in the country, saying allegations of tampering with electronic voting machine (EVM) raked up only when people lose polls.
Around 30 people are still undergoing treatment at various government hospitals in Bhavnagar, Botad, Barvala and Dhandhuka, officials said.
The fact that rodents were making merry in the dungeons came to light following media reports that they had overrun the 'Malkhana' (store) of the police stations.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front on Wednesday suggested further tightening of the measures on liquor policy if it returns to power.
The police want to trace the youths as well as a minor seen in the viral video, it said in court.
The bench headed by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur said all existing licences of liquor shops on highways will not be renewed after March 31, 2017.
Police have begun enforcing the liquor ban across Kerala in the wake of the state high court ratifying the state government's new liquor policy.
'Its three primary effects are to send the alcohol economy underground (depriving the state of revenue), to criminalise the casual drinker and to criminalise the police,' says Aakar Patel.
Liquor sales will obviously be hit. So, will real estate prices at what used to be prime locations, close to major thoroughfares. Food and snack sales close to highways will also, in all probability, be affected.
The first cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir to play in the IPL, Parveez Rasool, has refused to sport a liquor brand's logo on his Pune Warriors team jersey, saying that it would hurt his religious sentiments.
The Nitish Kumar government is leaving no stones unturned to plug the loopholes in the implementation liquor ban.
Chouhan's fate will be determined by the BJP central command's assessment of the implications of such a move ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
"Yoga is a natural treatment process but liquor addicts cannot perform it. Yoga would be irrelevant unless a ban is imposed on sale of liquor across the country," the Bihar CM said at meeting in Palamau district.
Seeking to turn the tables on the opposition which is promising prohibition if voted to power, CM Jayalalithaa assured a dry law in Tamil Nadu in a staggered manner.
Aiming at reducing liquor consumption, Kerala high court has suggested prohibition of liquor sales and its consumption till 5pm and also sought penal provisions to dissuade people from hitting the bottle during day time.
Sebi on Friday barred fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya from the securities markets and restrained him from associating with any listed firm for three years in the matter of routing of funds to the Indian securities market using overseas bank accounts with UBS AG. The Indian government has been attempting to extradite Mallya from the United Kingdom to face fraud charges related to his now-defunct company Kingfisher Airlines. Mallya has been living in the United Kingdom since March 2016.
Kerala High Court on Thursday upheld the state government's new excise policy directing closure of bars in two and three-star hotels.
The Court struck down as "unconstitutional" Section 30 of the Punjab Excise Act, which prohibited women, and men below the age of 25 years, from serving liquor at public places.
