Seminar on 'Hooch deaths, State Liquor Policy and People’s Resistance'

Patna, January 13:

Under the auspices of Bihar unit of People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) a seminar on ‘Hooch deaths, State Liquor Policy and People’s Resistance’ was organized at Gandhi Sangrahalaya, Patna on Sunday.

Left to Right: Shahid Kamal, Prof. Daisy Narain, Fr. Philip manthra, Prof. M. N. Karna

Presenting the base paper of the seminar Prof. Vinay Kumar Kanth, Former President of Bihar PUCL said that deaths due to consuming illicit liquor had acquired monstrous proportions in the recent months in the state of Bihar. He asserted that the state policy on liquor consciously promotes enhancement of the sale of liquor rather than curbing it. With the help of data and figures he showed how the revenue from the sales of liquor is growing by leaps and bounds. Referring the Article 47 of the Indian Constitution which directs the State to raise the level of nutrition and standard of living, and in particular endeavour to bring about prohibition and the newly inserted Article 21 A which enshrines right to education in the age bracket 6 to 14 years as a fundamental right, he termed the Government of Bihar a gross violator of the spirit of the constitution. In course of telling the harmful effects of liquor on the people in general and on the people coming from lower class or dalit-mahadalit communities in particular he condemned the newspapers report in which the Chief Minister defended the mushrooming of liquor shops and liquor policy by arguing that 'how can bicycles be given to girls if more money is not available'. “Bootleggers and several liquor sellers enjoy the patronage of a group of mafia dons, some political leaders, and often some members of police force or even civil administration,” he commented referring the general impression of the local people in most parts of the State.

A Section of audience

It is worth mentioning that after series of reports appeared in media claiming several deaths in different parts of the state Bihar PUCL constituted three enquiry teams. These teams conducted enquiries in Muzaffarpur, Ara and Gaya and prepared their reports. Besides the field level enquiries it was thought necessary to take a deeper look at the underlying situation which has led to such a rise in deaths, including an analysis of the policies being pursued by the state government having a bearing upon sale and consumption of liquor in the state. And all these generated the idea to hold this seminar.

Prof. Vinay Kumar Kanth addressing

Addressing the seminar Hind Keshari Yadav, former Minister of Bihar appealed the people gathered there to intensify the movement for the prohibition of liquor in the state. He demanded the CBI enquiry regarding the deaths due to consuming illicit liquor. Prof. Daisy Narain, Vice President, Bihar PUCL, Prof. M. N. Karna, Shahid Kamal, Vice President, Bihar PUCL, Arun Kumar Singh, Senior leader, SUCI (Communist), Kishori Das, Ex-General Secretary, Bihar PUCL, Sadhana Mishra, Secretary, All India Mahila Sanskritik Sangathan (AIMSS), Bihar, Sajina and Sister from Mahila Network, Akhtar Nehal, C. A. Priyadarshi, Arun Kumar, Nageshwar Prasad, Ex-General Secretary, Bihar PUCL, Rupesh Kumar and Mahendra Yadav addressed the seminar. They all held the general perception that local authorities have direct or indirect interest in manufacturing and distribution of liquor, which is a highly lucrative business. All the speakers dealt upon the disastrous effects of consumption of liquor and stressed the need for mass mobilization and opinion building against this evil. They all demanded adequate compensation for the keens of the victims due to consuming spurious liquor. The seminar was presided over by Fr. Philip Manthra, President, Bihar PUCL. Praveen Kumar ‘Madhu’ welcome the audience and guests while Rajkumar Chaudhary conducted the seminar.