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Prohibition: Ahead of CM’s review meet, his party concedes police problem
PATNA Ahead of the November 16 meeting Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has called to review Prohibition, his party Janata Dal (United)’s senior leader Upendra Kushwaha has acknowledged that liquor availability is not possible without the involvement of the local police, a charge leaders of the ruling coalition and opposition have been making as well
PATNA
Ahead of the November 16 meeting Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has called to review Prohibition, his party Janata Dal (United)’s senior leader Upendra Kushwaha has acknowledged that liquor availability is not possible without the involvement of the local police, a charge leaders of the ruling coalition and opposition have been making as well.
“There is no doubt that liquor availability is not possible without the involvement of the local police. The government can make good policies, but its success depends on effective implementation. If some people in the police and administration try to derail it for petty gains, there is a problem,” he said.
Kushwaha, a former union minister, also chided his party’s ally Bhartiya Janata Party for its comments. “BJP leaders issue statements just to appear different, which is not good. If there is any problem, they should discuss it at the proper forum,” he said.
In the wake of several deaths in hooch incidents in different parts of the state this month, questions over poor implementation of prohibition in the state are being raised both from within the government as well as outside. BJP’s Bihar unit chief Dr Sanjay Jaiswal was also vocal in criticising the faulty implementation. “The situation is alarming in East Champaran, which is part of my constituency. Illicit liquor trade is going on with the collusion of the police. It has become part of the racket at many places to derail a law which was brought by Nitish Kumar with good intention. It calls for a serious review,” he said.
While liquor flow has continued in the state despite Prohibition, it seems to have gone up sharply since the start of the ongoing panchayat polls.
As per statistics of the police headquarters, 115,144 litres of liquor were recovered from the 10 districts which went to polls in the first phase, while the total recovery in the state stood at 4,43,785 litres during the period from August 24, when the panchayat polls were announced, to September 21, when campaigning for the first phase ended.
Mounting case load
In dry Bihar, pendency of liquor related cases in the already overburdened courts has been on the rise due to continued availability of liquor and frequent recoveries and arrests, including for alleged hooch tragedies.
Since 2018, the share of such cases out of total institution of civil and criminal cases before the high court comes to around 19%, as per figures of the Patna High Court. During the pandemic year 2020, when the courts also had restricted functioning and fewer number of cases, the share of excise cases rose to 21.75%. Overall pendency has also risen due to pandemic disruptions.
The impact on the subordinate courts is more, with the share of excise cases out of the total number of cases instituted being around 25.5%, say the official court figures.
