BJP demands liquor ban in two Vidarbha districts

NAGPUR - The state Bharatiya Janata Party has demanded prohibition in Chandrapur and Yavatmal districts of Vidarbha in eastern Maharashtra as free availability of alcohol in these areas was posing serious social problems.

In a letter to Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, state BJP chief Sudhir Mungantiwar said he has received several representations from women of the two districts, demanding complete prohibition as it was ruining families and youth of the region.

“A large number of liquor shop permits have been granted in these two districts. As a result, liquor is available in every street corner in the towns and cities here. This has led to a sharp increase in the number of people consuming liquor, both locally brewed and foreign varieties,” Mungantiwar said in the letter.

He said that unless total prohibition was imposed in the two districts by March 7, women’s groups of the region will launch an agitation, including hunger strike from March 8 - International Women’s Day.

Joining the issue of prohibition, a prominent social activist said that a recent survey in Kelzar village in Mul taluka of Chandrapur district revealed that 87 percent of the widows had lost their husbands to liquor.

Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti chief Kishor Tiwari said the survey among 849 households in the village was conducted by Chandrapur’s SRM College of Social Work.

Mungantiwar urged the chief minister to consider the matter on priority and initiate appropriate measures to implement prohibition in the two districts.