Joe Dzüvichü
In the first place, let’s truthfully admit that the so called prohibition act is a total failure. And as such why do we have to debate or keep a failed act alive? Nagaland is not a dry state anymore; in fact, it is one of the wettest states in the country. The church will deny that because some of our church leaders seem to be living in another Nagaland.
How did the prohibition act come into existence? If we look at it closely, wives wanted their husband to stop drinking. Parents wanted the same for their children. The church leaders wanted to keep up its status of presenting Nagaland as another holy land. The state Government was too scared of losing its major vote bank, allowing an Organisation to overpower the Government.
From the start, the act was a failure for so many reasons. Instead of focussing on the CAUSE of drinking, the act directed its focus on the availability of the drink. Wives wanted the easy way out. And so, instead of finding and dealing with the cause of her husband’s drinking, wives went out on a war footing against the sellers. Parents did the same, blaming the availability of drinks, not wanting to deal with their child’s problems. The church, on its part, wanted a blanket ban to maintain its status of being a true Christian state.
Just take a look at some of things the act has brought about. The Government Has lost in terms of crore from revenues. Alcohol related death has tripled, due to adulterated drinks. Average people are in a lot of debt, due to the boom in the cost of drinks. Bootleggers have become so powerful; they are in control and have their hands in so many places.
We have reached a state where, we need to create more recreational outlets for the youth, instead of wasting our energy and resources, trying to stop the availability, which failed hundreds of years ago too.
• Open up licensed liquor stores and regulate it.
• Re sensitise all the personals in the Narcotic Department
• For save driving, it is a must that all Traffic police carry breath Analyzers.
• Make pay day, a dry day.
• A place like Kohima, needs a good movie theatre, where1thousand people can be occupied for at least 3 hours, that can curtail a lot of anti social activities.
• Government should build more different sports complex for the youth.
• Government run gym centres should come up for both men and women.
At the end, we must understand that availability is not the problem. We need to focus on the cause of our drinking and deal with it. Than only can Nagaland become a dry state.
