Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has called a high-level meeting of officials and ministers to deliberate on the liquor ban enforced in the state since 2016.
The meeting, to be held on November 16, comes amid a growing clamour from the Opposition and from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), an ally in the ruling government, to review the ban after a spate of deaths allegedly caused by consumption of spurious liquor.
READ: Bihar hooch tragedy: In 2 days, 24 dead after consuming suspected spurious liquor
At least 24 people have died and several fell ill over the last two days after consuming spurious liquor in Gopalganj and West Champaran districts of the state, according to a PTI report.
So far, over 40 people have died in Muzzafarpur, Gopalganj and Bettiah districts after consuming suspected spurious liquor, according to a report in NDTV. The deaths were a result of people forcing themselves to consume illegal liquor due to the ban, reports said.
“We need to review the entire prohibition policy. We cannot link the prohibition policy with this incident. But the Bihar government must look into the suspicious role of the administration,” Jaiswal was quoted as saying in media reports.
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Local Congress leader Prem Chandra Mishra said in a report that it was high time the state government reviewed the liquor prohibition.
Sources said that the meeting has been called to discuss measures to avoid deaths due to spurious liquor and if the policy needed to be improved for better enforcement.
The Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act came into force on October 2, 2016. But ever since the Bihar government under Nitish Kumar has been facing criticism for poor enforcement. Kumar has, however, reiterated that there is no question of rollback on the ban.
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