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Prohibition under
Scrutiny
The State exchequer stand to gain a lot from lifting prohibition goes without saying and with the abysmal financial condition gripping Manipur for the last couple of years, it is not surprising that the Congress led Secular Progressive Front Government is seriously mulling over the idea of entirely lifting prohibition from the State. The Cabinet has already decided that prohibition will be lifted from the five hill districts of Manipur and as things stand today the matter has to be just introduced on the floor of the House to be passed. And yes, as the Chief Minister himself informed the House on July 10, the Government is seriously considering doing the same thing in the valley area too.
While we reserve our comments on the social and moral aspect of lifting prohibition, we will not hesitate to say that it will have a positive impact on the economic front. The main and dare we say, the sole objective, behind declaring a State dry is to put a check on the social ills and the other ugly manifestations of life associated with consuming alcohol. It was in the face of a mass civil movement and yes the drive taken up against alcohol consumption by the underground outfits that prompted the then MPP led Government under the stewardship of RK Ranbir to declare Manipur a dry State in the early 90s.
This was at a time when the Nisha Bandh movement was at its peak and when stories of broken homes and downright criminal activities associated with alcohol consumption had reached a crescendo. It was at that point of time, in the social and political evolution of Manipur, when drunkards were a common sight on the roads and by lanes of the capital city of Imphal and when the underground organizations and the numerous civil organizations including the Meira Paibis and vigilant local clubs started aiming at the roots of all social ills and social reformation started figuring high on their list of priorities that prohibition came into force.
This then is the general backdrop against which prohibition was declared and since the last 10 years Manipur has been a dry State. But the question worth asking now is has prohibition really worked all these years? Without a doubt, alcohol consumption has not decreased and some even says that it has gone up since the State went dry but all the ugly stories associated with alcohol consumption appear to have disappeared. This is rather interesting. Prohibition was declared not so much as to stop people from drowning their favorite pegs but more to put a check on all the ugly developments linked with consuming alcohol. So with the prohibition on liquor in Manipur, what one sees is not a decrease in consuming alcohol, but a stop to all nuisance created by drunks and those who cannot hold their drinks.
Is this sudden change in the behavior of all habitual drinkers because of the writ against, alcohol consumption issued by the underground organizations or is it because our tipplers have suddenly become 'civilized' and can hold their drinks like gentlemen? This is the social picture against which the Government has decided to lift prohibition in the hill districts and is seriously mulling over the possibility of lifting the same from the valley.
The positive impact of lifting prohibition on the economic front cannot be denied. As the Government has already assessed, the State exchequer is losing around Rs 30/40 crores annually due to prohibition. Now to a cash starved economy like Manipur this amount is by any means astronomical. However the Chief Minister is yet to clearly explain why his Cabinet has decided to lift prohibition only in the hill districts, though he has gone on record and stated that the decision of the Cabinet is only to augment the income of the State. Very fine, Chief Minister, but the explanation does not answer the question why prohibition should be lifted only from the hill districts if revenue drive is the compelling factor behind the decision of the Cabinet. Surely lifting prohibition in the valley will earn much more revenue than lifting the same from the hills. A more plausible explanation is called for.
(Courtesy: The Sangai Express)
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