Nagaland CM stress discussion on Prohibition act

KOHIMA: Acknowledging that Nagaland Total Liquor Prohibition Act has been a failure, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Saturday stressed on the need to have 'thorough public discussion' and appoint a technical committee to present the technical views on the act.

Presenting his views to queries raised by legislators on the failure of the act during the question hour of the ongoing Budget session of the assembly, Rio said the Prohibition Act has been confronting the Naga society for quite some time.

He said that a technical committee could be formed to discuss and review the act if the House agrees on the proposal.

He said that being a Christian state with more than 95 per cent Christians, it was their demand to enforce the prohibition and the government imposed the act.

He however accepted that neither the state government nor the NGOs were able to properly implement it.

Liquor sellers are making a lot of money by smuggling spurious liquor, which is even affecting the health of the people.

NCP MLA Mmhonlumo Kikon through his supplementary stated that already 20 years have passed after the Act came into force and it is time to make impact assessment. He said proper study should be conducted on the free availability of spurious liquor is shops and border areas, because of many people have died.