CADA against proposal to lift prohibition
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, August 02 2022:
While taking strong exception to the move of the State Government to legalise the sale of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) in the State, the Coalition Against Drugs & Alcohol (CADA) has urged Chief Minister N Biren Singh to review his statement as alcohol consumption is still very high in Manipur.
Briefing media persons at Palace Compound today, CADA secretary general Geetchandra Mangang stated that they will never accept the move of the Government to make IMFL widely available in the State.
Claiming that the statement of the Chief Minister will only encourage the liquor traders as commercialisation of IMFL will lead to excessive alcohol use among the people, he continued that the rate of alcohol consumption and liquor business is already high in Manipur and the Government considering to lift the ban on sale of IMFL at this critical juncture is rather unfortunate.
Lifting the ban to collect some crores of rupees as revenue annually will affect the public health though the motive of the Government may be otherwise, he said and asked if the legalisation of liquor sale will solve the problem of alcohol- attributable deaths in the State.
If the Government truly can solve the problem then they must furnish a white paper before legalising the sale of IMFL, Geetchandra said.
Many locally brewed bottled liquors with an inscription "Not for sale in Manipur " are also available in the State, he claimed and asked who allows these traders to sell liquor in a dry State like Manipur and why is the Government not taking any action against them.
As per the Chief Minister, most of the alcohol-attributable deaths in Manipur are due to consumption of spurious liquor, he maintained and asked if there are any good or healthy liquor and if so then what or who determines it.
Stating that Manipur ranked fifth in list of top alcohol consuming States published by the National Family Health Survey in 2019-21, he said and questioned whether the rate of alcohol consumption in Manipur will decline after legalisation.
Accusing the State Government of not implementing the Act it formulated properly, Geetehandra reiterated that the CADA will never accept legalisation of IMFL sale in Manipur.
Geetehandra urged all the legislators of the State to strengthen Manipur Liquor Prohibition Act or formulate a new Act to prevent alcohol use entirely from the State during the monsoon session of the Assembly.
It would be wrong to assume that prohibiting alcohol use is a trait of the uncivilised group, he opined and further urged the Government to weigh the pros and cons of legalising liquor and make the finding public.