HazaribaghJust a day before Total Revolution Day, the legacy of loknayak Jay Prakash Narayan, Jharkhand State lok Samiti, Nav Bharat Jagriti Kendra and partner organizations had started the first phase of their state level Sharab Mukti Yatra (Journey for liberation from liquor) or SMY from Hazaribagh under the leadership of Girija Satish President, National lok Samiti. Kaushal Ganesh Azad National Coordinator, lok Samiti, Shivjee Singh General Secretary, Bihar State lok Samiti, Shyam Kunwar Bharti Bokaro District lS, Shankar Rana Coordinator, Jharkhand State lS.
Filman Bakhla Chatra District lS, Sujit Mishra, Paras Mahto, Vinay Kumar Bhatt, Rajiv Kumar Singh NBJK Hazaribagh, Saudagar Coordinator BSlS, Kranti Rasosh Women’s Coordinator, BSlS, Manti Verma Coordinator, Patna district lS, Punam Bharti Secretary, BSlS, Umesh Muzaffarpur District lS, Meghnath and group Folk Artists were other members of this travelling team.
This began with an anti-liquor convention at Hazaribagh, passed through Koderma, Giridih, Deoghar, Dumka, Jamtada, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Jamshedpur, Saraikela-Kharswan, Chaibasha, Khunti, lohardaga, Gumla districts and concluded at Ranchi. There were convention, meeting, street play, press conference, handbill distribution at each destination. SMY (Sharab Mukti Yatra) was responded warmly by the people especially youth and women groups. The pedestrians were welcomed with much dedication by the district units of lok Samiti and other partner organizations.
Girija Satish initiated the campaign with a tribute to loknayak and explained about the very idea of Total Revolution that includes ethical change in society. He said that growing habit of liquor intake and its social acceptance has blocked such evolution. Since liquor serves disease, anti-women crime, road accident only, ban should be viewed as a developmental issue. He mentioned during the meetings that SMY demands a strict law to ban liquor, except Handiya, completely in Jharkhand and suggested the political parties to make liquor ban an agenda of their manifesto.