A complete ban on liquor in rural areas was enforced in Bihar from Friday. The state government destroyed tons of cartons and pouches of country liquor after the Bihar Assembly passed the amendment bill unanimously on Wednesday.
Currently, the state government has imposed a ban on production, sale and consumption of only country-made liquor. According to reports, the Bihar State Beverages Corporation Limited has been asked to monitor the implementation of prohibition.
The state government has also issued toll-free numbers on which people can register complaints regarding violations of the new excise policy. The officials said that more than 35 complaints were received on Friday after the numbers were made public.
After the policy was implemented on Friday, the number of shops in Bihar where beers and Indian-made foreign liquor will be sold under the monitoring of BCL came down to 655. Officials said, “All IMFL shops have been taken over by the beverages department which will now sell liquor in urban areas only.”
He said, “Not a single drop of liquor will be sold in rural areas as now no one has the permit to either manufacture of sell liquor.”
According to financial analysts the state government after imposing a ban on country liquor will lose more than Rs. Two thousand crores which it used to earn from excise duty in Bihar. According to figures of Bihar government economic survey the state had earned Rs. 2, 159 Crore as excise duty from the sale of country liquor in the year 2015 -16.
They said besides major financial losses to the state, sale of liquor will also suffer if state government plans to impose a complete ban on IMFL brands as Bihar is the third largest populated state in the country. The chief minister had earlier asserted that he would also impose a ban on all IMFL brands in Bihar in the second phase to fulfil his poll promises.
