Nupi Samaj opposes legalisation of liquor production
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, August 31 2021:
All Manipur Women's Social Reformation and Development Samaj (Nupi Samaj) has demanded the state government to immediately halt attempts to amend the Manipur Liquor Prohibition Act.
In a statement, the body said that alcohol addiction has not only destroyed many households in the state but affected the economy of the state as well.
When the Manipur Liquor Prohibition Act was put into force in 1991 to make Manipur into a dry state, people expressed their appreciation to the then government.
However, the Act was subsequently rendered toothless due to the incompetency of the consecutive governments and the same was observed at the official level, which is highly embarrassing.
The state government's claim that brewing of liquor will be legalised in the state for exporting the same outside the state, while prohibiting its sale in the state is laughable and shows the government's narrow minded view of seeing only the money and income to be generated.
Despite enacting many strict laws, the import and export of liquor and other substances in the state including selling the same in the local market shows the incompe tency of the government and its allied agencies.
Questioning if the liquor business is the only means of increasing the revenue of the state, the Nupi Samaj asked if the government will legalise mass poppy plantations to produce heroin in the name of increasing the revenue of the state.
The authority's frequent act of seizing some liquor and small quantities of drugs is a joke, especially with its track record of protecting drug lords.
Such hypocritical acts will never help in curbing the drug menace in the state.
"The mothers of the state have been fighting to ban drugs and alcohol in the state since 1970, while many have sacrificed their lives for the cause.
As such, the Meira Paibi movement is now a prime example of such movements.
Thus, the government must halt its attempts to amend Manipur Liquor Prohibition Act", Nupi Samaj (erstwhile Nisaband) demanded, while cautioning the government against inviting a mass movement over the same.