Booze ban in Bihar: CM Nitish claims prohibition promoting communal harmony

Kisanganj: Terming prohibition as a “revolutionary step”, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday claimed that the move has promoted communal harmony in the state, with members of all religions supporting the liquor ban. “The decision of liquor ban has further promoted communal harmony in Bihar as members of all religions are whole heartedly supporting booze ban, which is a revolutionary step,” he said addressing a ‘Chetna Sabha’ here as part of his ‘Nishchay Yatra’. Accompanied by Excise and Prohibition Minister Abdul Jalil Mastan and Energy Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav, the CM highlighted “positive effects” of liquor ban. [caption id=“attachment_3146868” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Nitish Kumar. PTI[/caption] “The road accidents have come down by 19 percent between April and November this year when compared to the same period last year,” Kumar said. The booze ban has also substantially lowered rate of crimes like murder, kidnapping and riots in the state, he said. “Cases of murder have gone down by 24 percent between April to November this year when compared to the same period last year. Likewise, incidents of loot came down by 16 percent, kidnapping for ransom by 48 percent and riots by 37 percent,” Kumar said. As part of the Nishchay Yatra, the chief minister is taking feedback from people about prohibition. He asserted that liquor ban had resulted in economic prosperity of the state, which is reflected by rise in the sale of cars and tractors, milk and sweets in the last seven months since prohibition came into force. The JD(U) leader told the gathering about the human chain which would be formed by more than two crore citizens on 21 January  in favour of the ban, and urged people to participate in it.