Kerala to become a ‘dry’ state.
By Rajiv Theodore
NEW DELHI: It’s well known that Kerala is a haven for tourists who had been flocking in droves to this picture postcard region studded with turquoise beaches and emerald forests. It’s also a fact that the state has also been known for its binge drinking denizens, many of them consume over eight liters a year on an average.
Read an earlier story done by The American Bazaar:
“Let’s have a small†— Kerala’s growing binge drinking habits are for the record books
And worse still, about one in 10 of the population is addicted to alcohol. Take a shot of this: India’s per capita liquor consumption is four liters. Kerala’s in comparison is a whopping 8.3 liters. Only Punjab comes close, with 7.9 liters.
Kerala is also well-known for queues to buy liquor. But now, visitors to the state would miss this ubiquitous sight.
The long serpentine queues in front of liquor vends, which have sometimes touched a mile spilling on the roads to the coconut groves and beyond, would now no longer be needed. For the state government is giving final touches to a decision proposing an alcohol–free Kerala.
The policy is the brain child of the Congress-led United Democratic Front government and its Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. The decision, he said, would be conveyed to the Kerala High Court as a policy decision.
About 418 bars had been shut since April one as they failed to upgrade themselves to provide for better services. And now their licenses would not be renewed. Another 312 bars would have their licenses axed after March 31, 2015. And the proposed rules would allow only five star hotels to supply liquor in their bars.
Worse still – for binge and social drinkers alike – the UDF also decided to phase out Beverages Corporation (Bevco) outlets in the state which sell liquor in the retail sector. There are 334 Bevco outlets functioning in 14 districts. The government plans to phase out 10 percent of these outlets each year, and make the state ‘dry’ in 10 years’ time. A ‘small’ respite is that 111 beer and wine parlors in the state have been spared the ban.
The first to be hit when the ban is implemented would be the flourishing tourism industry which had been contributing substantially to the state coffers. Now with the ban not only would the state lose an immediate Rs. 8,000 crore – which is one-third of the state government’s annual plan outlay – but Chandy risks putting more pressure on an already sluggish economy. The spin-off effect would back-lash tourism, another pillar on which the state finances stand.
And to top it all, the whole exercise smacks of extreme hypocrisy. India has not been new to these events. In the past such decisions have only increased alcohol intake. In Kerala there is this local brew called arrack, an outlet which is spotted at every bend in the state whether in the town or the village. This is made out of everything and anything under the sun, including extremely toxic materials like batteries and putrefied flesh of dead and discarded animals.
The alcohol that is eventually distilled is highly potent, sometimes close to 90 per cent proof. The liquor that is marketed through the normal outlets have their alcohol contents regulated to around 42%.
The future looks dark and disastrous for the state.  Deaths after drinking moonshine is expected to shoot, like in the past there were several deaths in prohibition states, including Gujarat, Manipur and Mizoram.
Experts have never stopped arguing that despite a ban, the consumption spikes with smuggling and bootlegging goes on the rise. They say that these laws are politically motivated which eventually trigger greater social upheavals. Tamil Nadu had registered over 1,095 deaths in 2009-2011; in the same period Karnataka’s toll went to almost 600, followed by Gujarat, which raked 396 deaths.
A prohibition state like Gujarat has shown almost 100% spurt in such deaths in 2009. In all these incidents, homemade brew had been the cause of the deaths.
Then there are the vultures of the system. The police, the so called official types and other prey of carrion, are all waiting to line their pockets. For them this is just another opportunity as everything comes for a price. It’s a well-known in booze circles that getting alcohol in dry Gujarat is easier than in many wet states.
So, Kerala goaded by political pressure, the dominant church and Muslim groups has everything to lose when this policy takes effect leaving in its wake threat to human lives and a trail of demoralized and distraught families.
But Kerala has got its share of other social problems as well. Read that story here:
(Rajiv Theodore is India Bureau Chief, The American Bazaar)