(Image source from: Tourists saying bye as Kerala goes dry})
With its sweeping coastline, riverboats and emerald tea plantations, there is little denying that “God's Own Country”, Kerala is the leading tourist draw in India.
However, behind the paradisaical slogan, the state is unpopular for its binge drinking habits that has compelled the government to prohibit alcohol altogether, alarming the tourism industry.
By this Friday, licenses of nearly 700 Kerala bars could be cancelled. Only five-star hotels will be allowed to serve booze, but have go dry on Sundays.
Bar owners are praying for an 11th-hour change to the policy. They have challenged the decision at court, fearing tourists will start opting for other regional destinations. The hearing is pending at the Supreme Court for tomorrow.
The government has said state-run liquor stores, where men queue up for their daily fix, will be phased out at a rate of ten percent a year for the next decade, leaving a big hole in the state coffers after alcohol taxes and fees generated more than $1 billion, or 6,084 crores, in the 2012-13 financial year.
"Kerala should get ready to imbibe the essence of (a) total liquor ban," said Chief Minister Oommen Chandy last month as he announced the plan.
Along with holidaymakers' spending, the state has been raking in earnings from conferences and other business events at hotels.
"There's always a cocktail and dinner that goes along with it. So I think it would be particularly unattractive if we were to say: 'Do come, but sorry, we won't be able to serve you any alcohol'," said Suman Billa, a top civil servant in the tourism ministry.
His fears were backed up by a recent survey from travel portal HolidayIQ.com, based on 5,000 Indian respondents, of whom 58 percent said the booze ban would affect their travel plans.
There is little denial of an alcohol problem in Kerala, which has the highest consumption levels in India. The Alcohol and Drug Information Centre, an NGO to prevent substance abuse, links 69 percent of crimes, 40 percent of road accidents and one in four hospitalisations to alcohol.
"The government went into a hasty decision and they don't know what to do next," he said.
(Source: NDTV)
AW: Suchorita Chowdary
