Bhopal: In a ‘move towards making Madhya Pradesh a dry state’, the Mohan Yadav government on Friday decided to impose prohibition in 17 ‘holy’ cities of MP, in the ‘first phase’.
The state cabinet which met in the historic city of Maheshwar, the erstwhile capital of the Holkar dynasty ruler Ahlya Bai, in Madhya Pradesh, gave its stamp of approval to the proposal to declare 17 religious places in the state as dry cities from April one this year.
Chief minister Mohan Yadav who chaired the cabinet meeting said ‘This is a step towards making Madhya Pradesh a dry state. Prohibition will be enforced in the 17 religious cities in the state from April one this year, as a first step towards this.
Mr Yadav said that the liquor outlets in these religious cities would be shut down from April one and they would not be shifted to other places.
“The move will help in retaining the religious sanctity of these holy places”, he said after the cabinet meeting.
The chief minister declared that the decision taken by the government earlier to ban liquor in the places five km from the banks of Narmada would continue.
Official sources said that a total of 49 liquor outlets would be shut down in these cities following the cabinet decision.
The state government would incur a loss of revenue to the tune of Rs 450 crore annually, following the move, sources said.
This was the third time the Mohan Yadav cabinet met outside Bhopal.
The state cabinet earlier on two occasions met outside Bhopal at Jabalpur and Damoh in MP.
The chief minister and his ministerial colleagues offered prayers at the bank of Narmada in Maheshwar Ghat before holding the cabinet meeting.
The sites where prohibition will be enforced hold great religious significance.
Of these sites, Ujjain and Omkareshwar are revered Jyotirlinga sites, while Maihar is a prominent Shaktipeeth. Another site declared dry city is Amarkantak which is the origin of Narmada.
