Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is the only one to have a final say if total prohibition is imposed in the State, Excise and Cooperation Minister Damodar Rout has said.
His statement came when encouraged by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s announcement that Bihar would be as a dry State with alcohol being banned in Bihar with effect from April 1, 2016, many NGOs and social activists have reinforced their call for total prohibition in Odisha.
Rout said that the Bihar-Odisha Prohibition Act had been enacted in 1915. The Nitish Kumar Government has, meanwhile, made some changes to the Act to enforce prohibition in his State.
Therefore, whether Odisha wants to go in for similar changes and ban
alcohol in the State completely depends on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Rout argued.