Complete Ban on Liquor in Bihar, Army Canteens to Continue Selling

The Bihar CM has also vowed to not touch alcohol and hopes Bihar will become an example for the country to follow.

A file photo of Nitish Kumar. (Photo: PTI)

The Bihar Chief Minister has announced a complete ban on alcohol in the state. The ban on both foreign and domestic liquors will be effective immediately, Nitish Kumar said on Tuesday.

The Times of India reports that the Bihar government gets a revenue of nearly Rs 2,000 crore from the sale of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) with a revenue of around Rs 4,000 crore from country liquor sales in 2015-16.

Bihar becomes the fourth state after Gujarat, Nagaland and Mizoram to enforce a complete ban and the Chief Minister says that Bihar will now set an example for the rest of the country to follow.

Kumar added that no hotels and bars will serve alcohol and no licenses will be provided to serve liquor. However, Army canteens will continue to sell alcohol. Speaking at the Bihar Assembly on 31 March, Kumar said the decision of total liquor ban has been received with an overwhelming response by women and children as they are ‘suffering more than anyone else due to increasing liquor consumption.’

I was addressing a public gathering at Paliganj. Resounding claps conveyed the public response to the liquor ban.

A 1915 liquor Bill was amended to incorporate stricter penalties and to enforce the ban of country-made and foreign liquors in Bihar starting 1 April.

The new penalties include death sentence for manufacturers and distributors of illicit liquor.

The CM has taken a vow not to drink, hoping this would encourage others to do the same.

(With inputs from sources.)