Rovi Chasie
D- Block, Kohima town
During the NLA session in the month of August 2024 the NLTP Act was fiercely debated upon from the loftiest ranking Government body, in the NLA, to the lowliest shady liquor holes in the capital town, from eloquent discussions to some rambunctious hollering. Sparks flew. Come November, the temperature has dropped and the noise too has died down. So permit me to do a little whimpering.
Soon our State will be heralding in its 25th Hornbill Festival. Picture this, if the NLTP Act is lifted everyday will be like Hornbill Festival, to put it mildly, with the stench of booze and its by-products permeating in the air forever.
These days every fourth person we come across in the street may smell of Nakli liquor, without the Act every second person perhaps may smell of the Asli brand.
Without Prohibition, easy access to cheap liquor will destroy our youth and may disrupt their lives. Hear me out please! Not long ago some masons from my village were selected and escorted to Arunachal Pradesh for employment. Behold! In the absence of Prohibition in that state alcohol was in plenty and much cheaper. As a result some masons employed for their skills, could not resist the opportunity and remained sozzled, wasted and useless. Alcohol destroys talent.
They say spurious alcohol is killing our citizens. Will the pure kind increase their longevity? And I dare say, in some extreme cases, prolong the misery of the people around them? In Nagaland excessive drinking is rampant and so spurious or not, alcohol will ultimately harm and unfortunately kill.
They also say that because of the NLTP Act our economy is failing. Look at Dry Gujarat, it is one of India’s richest state. Gujarat’s per capita GDP is significantly higher than India’s average. I say, Nagaland is fairly rich, but there is a glitch in the wealth distribution. To substantiate my claim I would like to request you to look around or into your phone at some U-tubers constantly uploading their lifestyles. Honestly, I have a lot of pride and no prejudice towards some Nagas living lavish lifestyles. I only wish we could all put our Hearts, Heads and Hands together to make our State a prosperous one.
Govt. of Nagaland is talking about Liquor control AFTER lifting the NLTP Act. How about control BEFORE lifting the NLTP Act? Where there is no will there is no way. And so how do you stop yourself from crying? LAUGH of course.
Therefore, before lifting the Act our Government should solve two current and critical problems of our state they are Water and Electricity. If there is inadequate supply of potable drinking water the guzzlers would be knocking down their drinks neat and the repercussion would be horrendous. There is also urgent need of a steady supply of Electricity so that we provide the revellers a choice to consume their drinks on the rocks. Ha! Ha!
In some cities, in order to regulate alcohol consumption, bars open only for a certain period of time and they call it “Happy Hours”. The bars close at a specified time and customers depart while they are still happy. Happiness defined by Brewers, Vintners and Distillers I presume.
But what happens if you drink beyond “Happy Hours”? Here’s what happens. Recently, we had a Colony ‘Sales Day” which continued for a few days. On the last day, in the evening, as darkness descended I could hear happy sound of music, laughter, singing, clapping interspersed with teasings, jokes and more laughter. After sometime towards midnight, alas! All good things must come to an end right? The music stopped and a big fight erupted followed by the noise of a free for all Mix Martial Arts circus. It all ended with a person bawling and in all probability holding his bloodied nose and more, the disastrous outcome of excessive drinking.
To LIFT or not to LIFT was the question but, “the answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind, the answer is blowin’ in the wind”. I rest my case.
