Indian state sees rise in sweets consumption after prohibition, says its CM
After a liquor ban in Bihar, India, the Chief Minister of the state has claimed that sale of a sweet known as rasgulla has shot up.
Liquor prohibition has been in place in Bihar, a northern Indian state, for only a few months now but the Chief Minister of the state, Nitish Kumar claims that it has already started showing results. Amongst the social effects that are almost implied due to such a ban, the prohibition has resulted in pushing the sales of a very specific item, the rasgulla, as shared by Kumar. A rasgulla is a round, milk-based sweet which is soaked in sugar syrup.
Kumar addressed a rally that was part of his programme on getting feedback of the prohibition that was imposed seven months ago. This rally also came as part of gathering responses on how the government was performing on their policies. Liquor has been banned in the state since April this year, of the spiced variety and domestic as well as Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL). Among the stringent provisions that this liquor ban has, all adults of a family find the liability of being arrested if liquor is found at their house. Collective fines can be taken from villages and urban clusters in case of habitual violation of the prohibition law.
Kumar was counting the virtues that had resulted from prohibition and stated that the sale of rasgulla increased by 16.25 pc in the past seven months since the ban on alcohol was introduced in the state. He added that the sale of other dairy products that he termed healthy, such as paneer or cottage cheese and Dahi Matha a product of yogurt has also seen a rise. The figure of hike in sale of milk in the wake of prohibition is also an impressive 11 pc. Kumar also reported a substantial drop in crime rate. “Murder cases have dropped by 36 pc between April 1 and October 31 this year as compared to the same period in 2015,” he said. Adding to the list of crimes, he claimed, “Cases of robbery decreased by 25 pc and road accidents by 21 pc.”
Ban under scanner
Opposition parties have questioned the feasibility and desirability of such a blanket ban on liquor in the state. Speaking on the moves made by Kumar, a Bharatiya Janata Party leader, Sushil Kumar Modi stated, “After the Patna High Court dismissed the old and draconian liquor law (Bihar Excise (Amendment) Act, 2016), the Bihar government has sought suggestions from public to bring amendments to the new liquor law (Bihar Prohibition & Excise Act, 2016) to stand legal scrutiny in the Supreme Court.” He added that the provisions on which the party has an objection includes the imposition of collective fine and need for the quantum of punishment to be in conformity with the crime.
Citizens have also voiced their grievances against the law that they claim is too harsh. However, as Kumar claimed the increase in sales of sweets, many took to social media to share the news.
After liquor ban in Bihar,sale of rasgullas up by 16% and sale of milk has been increase by 11% in the past seven months. @NitishKumar
— Nikhil Mandal (@nikhilmandalJDU) November 11, 2016
And somewhere in Bihar a HALWAI does a #DeMonetisation on liquor with rasgulla. You may exchange a bottle of liquor with 16 rasgullas???https://t.co/hM2RCjYd4J
— Sandeep Chatterjee (@chatssandeep) November 11, 2016
