(Image source from: Will Kerala's liquor prohibition policy work?})
Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy has ordered a ban on sale of alcohol in all non-5 star outlets across the state. But the big question is that will a liquor prohibition help the afflicted in the state.
Sapna Begum, wife of an alcoholic and a Kerala resident, says that her husband was a drunkard. He would spend all his money on liquor and even threw out the food at home. He went to the extent of selling her jewellery. Sapna says as a family they never experienced happiness.
Sapna's husband Sulfikar used to earn Rs 30,000 a month before becoming addicted. Alcoholism reduced him to a jobless man begging on the streets for his next drink. The phase was a nightmare for Sapna, in desperation she even attempted suicide.
And one day Sulfikar collapsed. Sapna thought he was dead and took her children to my mother's house. Then she returned and tried to hang myself, but was saved by her mother and sister.
Sulfikar was sent to a rehabilitation home for alcoholics and has since been a sober man for years. He pin-points the reasons for his alcoholism as being bad company, easy money and ready availability of alcohol.
Talking about his experience at the rehabilitation centre, Sulfikar says he learnt that even an alcoholic can get back his life on track. He even helped 70 alcoholics like himself to recover from their addiction.
According to reports, Kerala consumed 11.1 litre of alcohol per person in 2010, which is nearly 3 times the figure for the national average of 4.3 litre per person. CM Oommen Chandy is using this alarming figure in justification for the ban in sales of all non 5-star outlets. Besides the easy availability of alcohol all over Kerala, especially to youngsters has been a matter of concern for the state.
Johnson J Edayarnmula, Director, ADIC – India favours the ban saying that the average age of liquor initiating has been reduced from 19 to 13.5 years now. This is a dangerous trend as it will lead to an increase in the number of adolescents and youth in the drinking population.
The Oommen Chandy government also believes that the ban will reduce crime rates across the state and make the streets safer for women.
The partial liquor ban is primarily aimed towards families who are victims of alcoholism. However, many experts opine that the government's new liquor policy was announced without doing any impact assessment study. What about the high chances of bootlegging in the state. It will give rise to a new type of vice. Also it could lead to rise of liquor mafia.
Only time will tell whether the Oommen Chandy government will be able to achieve the desired result from the prohibition.
(AW: Pratima Tigga)
