CADA opposes legalisation of liquor brewing in state
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, August 29 2021: Raising strong objection to the approval of Manipur Liquor Prohibition Act 2nd Amendment by the Select Committee of the Manipur Legislative Assembly thereby giving nod to legalising liquor brewing in the state for sale outside, Coalition Against Drugs and Alcohol (CADA) has demanded the government to withdraw the Bill at once.

In a statement, CADA recounted that the Bill was introduced in the House in the monsoon session of the present Manipur Legislative Assembly in 2018.It was referred to a five-member select committee following public movement against the Bill, which proposed legalization of commercial brewing of liquor in the state.

Unfortunately, the select committee approved the Bill without any amendment during the recent session of the state assembly and CADA strongly condemns the act of the select committee, the statement said, while terming it as a challenge to the people of the state.

Demanding the government to withdraw the Bill, CADA said that attempting to pass the Bill in the assembly will invite public agitation.

CADA pointed out that the state has been facing the brunt of drug and alcohol abuse for decades and it led to the public movement of Nishabandi from the 70s.As a result of the movement, the state government passed The Manipur Liquor Prohibition Act 1991 and declared Manipur as a dry state.

However, none of the government has taken any resolute stand to prohibit liquor consumption so far and instead of making amendments to strengthen the Act, the government is legalizing commercial brewing of liquor, which is very unfortunate and irresponsible, the statement said.

Ban on liquor brewing business in the state could be easily enforced if the government is committed enough like the way it acts against outlawed armed groups.

No customary law allows commercial brewing of liquor but for religious purposes only.

Misinterpreting the customary practice as an excuse for the government's failure to ban liquor brewing is nothing but an act of misleading the public.

The benefits of revenue collection and employment creation stated by the government are just a misleading claim in favour of a few individuals and to take political opportunity.

It then challenged the government to bring out an appropriate blue print to support its claim of getting Rs 350 to 400 crore revenue per annum from commercial liquor brewing and to bring out detailed report of demand of state liquor in other states of the country.

At the same time, raw materials are sourced from the food products of the state and legalising the same will severely impact the lives of the common people.

The government should clarify on the raw material to be used in the trade.

With only 1.9 lakh hectare of farmland producing 3.92 lakh metric tonne (MT) of rice against the annual requirement of 5.52 lakh MT, the requirement gap of 1.54 lakh MT is filled by imported superfine rice.

In such a situation, allowing local paddy rice for liquor brewing would create artificial food scarcity and it will only make the state more dependent on others.

Moreover, not allowing sale in the state is just a false promise of the government considering the way the government is implementing various schemes and enforcing various acts in the state, the statement said.

Several people have died of liver disease due to excessive consumption of liquor in the state.

As a result, several women are becoming widows at young age and several children are becoming partly orphans.

Such situation forces many young widows to engage in immoral acts in search of livelihood.

Everybody knows that there is hardly any person in the state who does not consume liquor.

Despite such a situation, the government has not conducted any survey in this regard so far, CADA lamented.

As per the National Health Survey 2019-2020 report, 37.5 per cent of adult male and 0.9 per cent of women population of the state consume liquor.

The percentage is very high when compared with figures of other states.

In the 'Magnitude of Substance Use in India' report published by Ministry of social justice and empowerment, Manipur is the 8th highest liquor consuming state in the country.

Despite such situation, the select committee approved the Bill without thinking about the future of the state, the statement added.

If the government truly wants to increase the state's revenue, it could work on cultivation of medicinal plants and production of processed products since Manipur is a biodiversity hotspot of over 100 medicinal plants.

It can easily improve the state's economy without any negative impact to the people and the society.

At the same time, the government could revive the Khansari sugar factory at Khangabok and the spinning mill at Loitang Khunou which could provide direct and indirect employment to many.

Similarly, the government can revive the cement factory in Ukhrul.

The government is allowing BRTF to use the precious limestone in road construction.

It can also work on setting up paper mill and tea estate in Jiribam.

Instead of paying attention to these vast potentials, the government is targeting only on liquor, which will have negative impact on the state and its youth.

If revenue is the only target of the government, it can also legalise poppy plantation in the hills, which can generate huge revenue, CADA contended.

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