PATNA: Patna High Court on Wednesday directed the Bihar government to reply by Thursday on why schoolchildren are being roped in for the proposed human chain in support of liquor prohibition and under what provision it has decided to stop traffic on national and state highways.
The direction was given by a division Bench of acting Chief Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh while hearing a PIL filed by a non-governmental body Forum for Public Interest Litigation.
Arguing for the PIL, advocate Shashi Bhusan Kumar sought to know under what provision school children are being involved in the January 21 human chain programme. He also sought the same for the blockade on state and national highways.
The Nitish Kumar government has planned a gigantic human chain across the state on January 21 to reaffirm its commitment to the liquor ban. It will spread across more than 11,292 km with two crore participants, which the government claims will break world records.
The chain would be formed for 45 minutes from 12:15 PM to 1 PM on January 21 at the Gandhi Maidan in which Nitish Kumar will also take part.
The event, for which Rs 10 crore was sanctioned, will be captured by five satellites, with videography carried out in all the districts with the help of drones and videographers on helicopters, officials said.
The human chain, a brain child of chief minister Nitish Kumar will touch most of the gram panchayats in the state, and is being held to show people’s support for the liquor ban which was enforced in 2016.