#LiquorProhibitionConvention by West Singhbhum District Lok Samiti @JBFMumbai

14 September 2021, Chaibasa: The district unit of Lok Samiti and Mahila Sangh have organized  a convention on liquor prohibition at Ravindra Bhawan under joint auspices of Nav Bharat Jagriti Kendra-Hazaribag & Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation-Mumbai. More than 100 women-men from different villages, panchayats and Chaibasa town have participated in the event.

As the keynote speaker, Mr. Girija Satish (President, National Lok Samiti) said that there is no culture like booze and none of the faith mentions about such permission. He rejected the Government’s logic about revenue and other developmental works by such income as in favour of liquor and asked about Bihar where alcohol is banned since the year 2016 but there is no dearth of money for development. He appealed the women to oppose liquor and pointed out that when women in Bihar have made this an issue, the state government was compelled to listen to them and enacted prohibitive law. Liquor as an obstacle on the way of socio-cultural transformation as Loknayak JP conceptualized in his idea of Total Revolution, Mahatma Gandhi resisted this social evil always and we can say that liquor can’t be a means for development rather this is a big blockage which needs to be removed, The national president of Lok Samiti said. He suggested for getting written consent for liquor prohibition from the candidates when election comes to decide our representatives.

In his address during the convention, Mr. Kaushal Ganesh Azad (National Coordinator, Lok Samiti) said that liquor prohibition will speed up development works and can fix our systemic problems also. Mrs. Suman Birua (W. Singhbhum Lok Samiti) has supported the demand of liquor prohibition in Jharkhand and warned about peaceful struggle on road even if required so. She exemplified an adolescent girl raped by her alcoholic family members and became pregnant. Mr. Shankar Rana (Coordinator, Jharkhand State Lok Samiti) has mentioned about constant advocacy by Lok Samiti against liquor and said that rising public support will force the government to ban liquor.

From the chair, Mrs. Sukmati Birua has raised the question of women’s safety and said that we women are doing the work supposed to be performed by the government in fact. She justified the demand to ban liquor and insisted to frame adequate law.

Also Mrs. Lemboti Purti, Mrs. Shanti Soy, Mrs. Lilawati, Mrs. Janki Devi, Mrs. Shilwanti, Mrs. Sukhwanti, Mrs. Sugandhi Samad & others have put their views on the occasion. After vote of thanks by Mrs. Tulsi Budiuli, the convention ended.