Mumbai, Jan 20 (IANS) The Maharashtra government Tuesday declared total prohibition in Chandrapur district from April 1, making it the third in the Viddarbha region to go dry.
The state cabinet's decision came after a sustained campaign for 10 years by state Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar when he was a Bharatiya Janata Party leader in the opposition benches.
"I am grateful to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and all ministers who saw through the reasoning behind the move and finalised the decision. If it had not materialised, I was planning to resign," Mungantiwar told reporters here.
He said of the 800-plus village panchayat with more than 1,000 villages in Chandrapur, around 515 had voted for prohibition, a massive signature drive in the district saw a majority were in favour it it.
The estimated revenue loss from the move would be around Rs.2 billion, but Mungantiwar justified saying that overall, a family spent around Rs.10,000 on liquor consumption, affecting health, work and development.
"It was a major social health issue and the previous government had formed a high-level committee which advocated prohibition. They submitted their report but it was not implemented. We have now decided to implement it," he said.
To repeated queries on why prohibition was not being implemented in entire Maharashtra, the minister said: "It should be the final objective."
Incidentally, during the campaigning for the 2014 assembly elections, Mungantiwar had promised "total prohibition for Chandrapur" and vowed to quit if it was not implemented.
In the past decade, through various fora, he had campaigned actively for total prohibition in his home district and the move finally fructified after the BJP formed the government and he joined it as a minister.
A few years ago, the state government had declared prohibition in Wardha district, which was long associated with Mahatma Gandhi and his works, and in the Maoist-infested Gadchiroli district.
PM Modi watched Vikrant Massey's The Sabarmati Report, a film based on the Godhra incident.
PM Narendra Modi has seen Ekta Kapoor's film 'The Sabarmati Report' based on the Godhra incident.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selectors may be about to make a major U-turn re
Police have registered 100 FIRs in the case of putting up posters against Prime Minister Narendra
Meditation classes were started for UK school children facing depression. This is called mindfuln
If you also want to join the Indian Army then there is good news for you. In the Indian Army, 30
A shocking incident came to light on Thursday at Ra Studio in Powai, Mumbai. A man held 15 to 20
Covid-19: Vaccine will be made in India against another form of Corona, Bharat Biotech will work
The Indigenous vaccine will soon be available against another form of coronavirus. Recently, the
On November 28, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Zydus Biotech Park in Ahmedabad to inqui
Corona sufferers are no longer a threat to others after just 11 days
The country's National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID), which is conducting research on cor
From July 1, i.e. today, a major change in the legal system in the country has come into effect.
