Call for liquor ban has crossed Bihar, says Nitish Kumar

CHAPRA (BIHAR): Claiming that the total prohibition in Bihar had set an example before the country, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said the call for liquor ban has gone beyond the state's boundary.

"The ban on alcohol will spread across the country," Kumar asserted at a function here.

The Chief Minister referred to his visit to Jharkhand and thanks-giving by women groups from Rajasthan, Maharashtra and elsewhere for his prohibition experiment.

"Bihar would become an example of successfully implementing total prohibition in the country," Kumar said.

He said yesterday he attended a function at Dhanbad in Jharkhand and the women's group which organised it sought a complete ban on alcohol in their state.

Recently, the daughter-in-law of late Rajasthan politician Gurusaran Chabbra who had launched a movement for prohibition in the desert state, said the total prohibition order in Bihar had boosted their confidence.

Puja Chhabra urged me to come to Rajasthan for a programme against alcohol, Kumar said.

Due to efforts of women, prohibition has been put into action in Chandrapur in Maharashtra from April 1 this year.

"The women from Chandrapur had come to Patna to thank me and expressed strong resolve to run an agitation against alcohol across Maharashtra," he added.

Voices are also being heard from Uttar Pradesh and Odisha for enforcement of prohibition, Kumar said.

He asked women in particular to be vigilant and destroy illegal liquor manufacturing units they might come across for which the state government would provide support.

The Chief Minister said, "By imposing complete ban on alcohol we have paid a tribute to the Father of the Nation in the centenary year of Champaran satyagraha."