Women bodies continue to stick to stand against alcohol
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, October 13 2022:
Representatives of several women organizations including Nupi Samaj, AMKIL and NIMPAL have highlighted their stand to the Chief Minister on the State Government's decision to lift prohibition on liquor.
Speaking to media persons at the office of Nupi Samaj at Lamphel this afternoon, AMKIL president Lourembam Nganbi conveyed that an 11-member team of women CSOs including Nupi Samaj, AMKIL, NLANL and ANUL met Chief Minister N Biren and a few Ministers in the Chief Minister's Office Secretariat yesterday.
The meeting deliberated on the disagreement between the State Government and women organizations on regulation of selling, consuming and brewing of liquor in the State.
She said that they asked the Chief Minister to first withdraw the State Cabinet decision on regulation of selling, consuming and brewing of liquor in the State.
The Chief Minister reasoned that the State Government came out with the new liquor regulation as the prolonged prohibition on liquor in the State remained ineffective.
The Chief Minister assured that the liquor regulation would not be finalised in hush-hush manner without consulting women organizations and stakeholders, Nganbi conveyed.
However, the representatives of the women's organizations pointed out that the enforcement of 'Manipur Liquor Prohibition Act, 1991' and banning of liquor in the State were not successful due to lack of will power on the part of the Government, she said.
She also informed that the women representatives had even questioned the Chief Minister why the State Government did not adopt the 'Gujarat dry State model' .
Further claiming that the women representatives made their stand clear that they will neither agree to sale, consumption and brewing of liquor nor establishment of brewing factory in the State, Nganbi reiterated that the liquor regulation designed by the Government must be aimed at strengthening the prohibition of liquor and there should be no room for legalising sale, consumption and brewing of liquor except for customary and ritual purposes.
She added that the women organizations along with like-minded CSOs and the public would continue to hold protests and agitation until the Government withdraws its Cabinet decision on regulating sale, consumption and brewing of liquor in the State.