Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said that he has called a high-level meeting on November 16 to “review the effectiveness of the liquor ban” in the state. This will be the second review meeting called by the CM after at least 31 people died due to the consumption of spurious liquor in dry Bihar within a span of three days.
The deaths have been reported from Gopalganj, West Champaran and Samastipur districts.
Liquor prohibition was the first major announcement by Nitish Kumar after he was sworn in as chief minister for the fifth time after his emphatic victory in 2015. The ban was imposed on April 5, 2016, but the stringent excise law was brought into force in October 2016. Consumption, dealing and conniving to sell liquor were made a criminal offence under Bihar’s prohibition law.
