No Cold Beer in Kochi! Kerala Raises Legal Drinking Age to 23

Experts feel this move will further drive underage drinking underground.

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After raising our hopes for having the perfect Kerala vacation – complete with a cold beer and fish – the Kerala government seems to be favouring prohibition yet again.

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government on Wednesday, 6 December, decided to raise the legal drinking age from 21 to 23 years. This comes after the previous UDF government went around shutting bars and liquor vending outlets.

The current government, in fact, seems to favour anti-prohibition. It even relaxed (marginally, at best) rules for bars and restaurants and amended guidelines over to the mandatory distance from places of worship and educational institutions.

While opposition parties and pro-prohibition activists criticised the LDF government for relaxing drinking norms, they are not thrilled by the raised legal drinking age either.

According to The Hindu, the Opposition has termed the move a “gimmick”.

During our time the total number of hotels that served liquor was just two dozen and today that number has dramatically gone up. Raising the age to 23 is just an eye wash.

Joseph Vazhackan, senior Congress leader, to IANS

Given that “kids” in states where legal drinking age is already 23 or higher (like Maharashtra or Delhi) can easily bend the rules, how can we say it will be effective in Kerala? JJ Edayaranmula, director, Alcohol and Drug Information Centre, said the this move is more likely to drive underage drinking underground in Kerala, reported The News Minute.

(With Inputs from The News Minute.)

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