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Ahead of 1st phase, dry day declared in 6 districts
Jharkhand has prohibited supply, distribution and sale of liquor in six of its districts for 48 hours, effective from 6
Jharkhand has prohibited supply, distribution and sale of liquor in six of its districts for 48 hours, effective from 6.30pm on Thursday in wake of the assembly polls in the neighbouring state of West Bengal, officials said on Wednesday.
As per an order issued by the state excise department on direction of Election Commission of India, the six districts where the dry day has been declared are Ranchi, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Ramgarh, East Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan.
The first phase of polls in West Bengal will be conducted on March 27 and the final phase will be held on April 29. The poll panel will announce the results on May 2.
The restrictions will also be implemented in four districts -Sahebgunj, Pakur, Jamtara and Dhanbad- 48 hours before the seventh phase, which will be conducted on April 26, and four districts- Sahebgunj, Pakur, Dumka and Jamtara- for the final phase of the election, which will take place on April 29. The dry day will also be applicable in these districts on the counting day on May 2, officials said.
Ranchi deputy commissioner (DC) Chhavi Ranjan issued an order in this regard for Ranchi district on Wednesday. Ranjan said any kind of supply or distribution of liquor will be strictly prohibited.
He said all kinds of liquor outlets, bars and manufacturing units of Jharkhand State Beverage Corporation Limited (JSBCL) will remain closed during the dry period.
Jharkhand Retail Liquor Traders’ Association (JRLTA) office-bearers, however, said the order will cause huge monetary loss to them, as it was coming into effect just before the festival of colours, Holi.
The association’s general secretary Subodh Jaiswal said, “We faced huge loss during the Covid-19 period last year. We hoped to make up some of those losses during Holi, as its sales go high during the festival. As per our calculation, the trade will see a loss of nearly ₹1 crore during the dry day period.”
He said the traders are required to submit excise tax duty (ETD) on the 25th of every month. “We requested the government to extend the date till March 30 for this month, as dry day is coming into effect. But, the department concerned denied our demand,” he said.
