The Government-promoted Biju Yuba Vahini’s campaign against alcohol and the excise policy of the Government is being seen as contradictory, but above all the increase in quantity of alcohol consumption and its larger ramification are a matter of concern.
The monopoly in wholesale trade of India made foreign liquor and country spirit by the State owned Odisha State Beverage Corporation (OSBC) is justified on the ground of employment, income and revenue for the State. Added to this, it is being seen as a controlling step to minimize illicit liquor trade that became cause of death of hundreds of life in the past.
Apart from compensation to the victims out of the State treasury, the issues were seen as failure of the Government and nexus of liquor mafia and ruling party. In order to control the illicit trade about 2,000 sanctioned staff are engaged and the Excise Department has arrested about 90,000 people and more than one lakh cases have been filed during the year 2011 to 2016-17 as revealed in departmental annual report.
The State run liquor business has provided licences to more than 4,000 excise shops which include off shops, on shops, beer parlors, military canteens, clubs and country spirit shops. The excise revenue of last ten years has registered a growth from Rs 1,380 crore in 2011-2012 to Rs 3877.87 crore in 2016-2017 which is roughly almost equal to Chhattisgarh but less than collections of AP, Telangana and Tamil Nadu.
The Excise Policy of 2018-2019 encourages liquor shops at airports, OTDC, ITDC, private hotels having lodging, star hotels, part of shopping malls, defence establishments. It is to improve the efficiency of the process associated with manufacturing, import, export, transport and sale of alcohol.
The OSBC has emerged as profit making unit with more than Rs 4,305.32 crore annual turnover that gives good dividend to the State. The CSR fund of the OSBC has been spent on destruction of hemp plants in districts of Angul, Sambalpur, Boudh, Gajapati, Malikangiri, Kandhamal, Deogarh, Koraput and Rayagada. The ordinary poor women are very often narrating their sufferings because of increasing liquor consumption by male members in family adversely affecting their family life and socioeconomic condition.
Consumption of alcohol has been identified as one of the major causes of poverty, loss of life due to accident and violence in social life, especially against women and children. It has been contributing to loss of quality of life, working hour, ill health and influencing the decision making process in many ways in the matter of public importance.
The social and economic loss requires a social and economic calculation and audit to get a comparative picture of liquor trade by the State Government.
An economically and socially backward State like Odisha having large presence of illiterate and poor is very much prone to alcoholism that has been promoted by the Government and victimizing youths and marginalized sections.
The State has witnessed death of innocent poor due to consumption of poisonous alcohol supplied by liquor traders having strong nexus with bureaucrats and ruling party politicians. There were more than 200 people who died and many were hospitalized by consumption of poisonous liquor at Cuttack in 1992 and later about 29 people died in February 2013.
The victims were poor people mostly belonging to the marginalized sections. There have been regular reports of accidents, social disturbances and law and order problem in liquor shops opened near schools, hospitals, bus stops, temples, mosques and other such public institutions by disobeying even court orders and limited execution of law by the administration.
The laws in PESA areas of the State are not being implemented in spite of demand by the tribal women in large number.
There have been reports of violence and repression in many forms against anti-liquor activists, such as Dileswar Dandasena of Sundargarh and Dalit women in Namatara village of Kendrapada district whereas a number of such cases remain unreported due to pressure by both liquor mafia and local administration.
But in spite of difficulties, more and more people are getting involved and supporting anti-liquor movement for total ban of alcohol.
The campaign has been sustained by progressive politicians, freedom fighters, Left wing intellectuals, Gandhians, Sarvodaya workers, voluntary agencies, academics and common citizens. There is also instance of move by ruling party MLAs through a private bill for a ban.
The Constitution of India in Article 47 says every State shall endeavour to bring about prohibition of consumption of intoxicating drinks and drugs which are injurious to health except for medical purpose.
There are Government declared dry days on the occasion of national importance such as Independence Day, Republic Day, Gandhi Jayanti and during voting and counting days of elections.
The World Health Organization(WHO) report says around 30 per cent of the total population of India consumed alcohol, spirits and the per capital consumption of alcohol has increased from 1.6 to 2.2 liters in a decade which is one of the fastest increases in the world in 2012.
Social scientists and medical experts say alcoholism has been a serious problem with major impact on social environment and human health. It is closely linked to domestic violence, crime, suicide and loss of social peace.
With a continued social tradition of prohibition, the movement against liquor has been an all India phenomena with example of dry States such as Gujarat, Kerala, Nagaland, Lakshadweep and Bihar since 2016.
The Government of Kerala with support of almost all other political parties in the State has decided to close the Kerala State Beverage Corporation with a ten per cent cut in every year with its limited use in five star hotels and for NRIs and foreigners.
There are State legislations such as The Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition Act 1989which speaks for total prohibition. States such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, UP and Haryana have witnessed huge movements in recent past against liquor. Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Mizoram have repealed prohibition with the plea of leakages from the neighbouring States and increase in illegal trade within the State.
In the State excise policy, the Collectors have power to grant licences and consider and recommend the change of location of shops.
It is also said that the location of the liquor shops should be shifted to 500 meter away from the State and National Highways and no shops shall be allowed on Government land.
Besides, there is prohibition in employment of women and children to encourage sale of liquor.
The policy granted concession in tribal areas to brew liquor for personal consumption and not for sale.
In the PESA Act 1996, the Gram Sabha gives power to enforce prohibition or to regulate or restrict the sale and consumption of any intoxicants in scheduled areas. It is important to regulate the liquor trade in tribal area for the development of the tribal people.
It has been observed that land alienation and money lending have been directly linked to liquor consumption. It is a fact that during elections the party candidates use free liquor distribution to attract the voters in their support.
There are reports of crime, domestic violence, separation in family and diseases linked to flow of liquor and its unrestricted consumption.
Sometimes liquor consumption is being promoted in the name of culture and traditional food practices and hugely used in festivals and functions as an inseparable item. It has been very often told by development workers in rural tribal areas that without controlling liquor consumption, no development will sustain among the marginalized sections.
Many of them routinely run anti-liquor movement as most complimentary programme to other development works such as health, education, nutrition, employment and livelihood.
The traditional exploiters in tribal areas have been using liquor as most important means to spoil the body and mind of the illiterate poor to deprive them of resources and use them as bonded labourers. In the recent past, the Government also had linked the farmer suicide with domestic violence and liquor, and trying to establish a close link of distressed farmers.
Way back, former Chief Minister Nabakrushna Choudhury had enacted the Odisha Prohibition Act 1956 to prohibit manufacturing, sale and consumption of liquor in Odisha but it has not been enforced due lack of political will but in recent times, the State has been witnessing an unprecedented surge of people’s movement against liquor which needs urgent attention of the Government and people of the State.