PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday extolled the socio-economic virtues of prohibition in the state, dishing out statistics to claim drastic decline in crime and rise in sales of several products during the past eight months.
“Massive transformation has been wrought in the state due to prohibition that was enforced in April. Crime rates have fallen drastically. Statistical data with the government shows that living standards have risen considerably,” said Kumar in his address at a massive public meeting in Lakhiserai as part of his ongoing ‘Nischay Yatra’.
Presenting comparative crime figures for eight months (April to November) in 2015 and 2016, Kumar said: “Due to prohibition, murders have come down by 24 per cent, loot by 16 per cent, abductions for ransom by 48 per cent, rioting by 37 per cent, road accidents by 19 per cent and the number of deaths caused by accidents by 21 per cent during these eight months… The state’s people are saving Rs 10,000 crore every year due to prohibition”.
Kumar, who is the national president of JD(U), also sought to put down “those handful of critics of prohibition” by claiming that Bihar’s economy has gained by the exercise. “Sales of several products has picked up in the eight months of prohibition. The sale if milk rose by 11 per cent, rasagulla by 16 per cent and peda and gulab jamun by 15 per cent,” he said.
“Sales of readymade garments in Bihar rose by 44 per cent, which means that people are now saving enough money by shunning alcohol and spending it on buying clothes for themselves and their children. Sewing machines registered a 19 per cent rise in sales, which means more garments are being stitched in Bihar these days,” added Kumar.
The Bihar government is currently busy planning a statewide human chain in support of prohibition on January 21 and says it would be the longest human chain in the world. “It will be so large and long that even using helicopters will not help those wishing to take a picture of the human chain in its entirety. Only satellite images can show the massive programme,” said Kumar. He also said his government would launch a campaign against consumption of narcotics in the state from January 21.