Prohibition law counter productive in NE

Guwahati, Mar 10: Total ban on liquor selling and consumption in the three bordering states of the North East Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram has become counter-productive and given rise to drug abuse.

This was the general tone of the judicial colloquium for Development of Polices and Programmes for the North Eastern Region, attended by the Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan, other judges of the Supreme Court, Delhi High Court as well as Guwahati High Court besides Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.

Appealing against the Prohibition law, Supreme Court justice H K Sema said that all these states were suffering from random drug proliferation due to long international border and closeness to golden triangle of Myanmar and Thailand where drugs transaction was high.

''Today in all these states, the price of drugs have become less than a bottle of rum and whisky. As a result there is tremendous growth of bootleggers and black marketers as both drugs and liquor are freely available everywhere in these states. The young generation is getting attracted to drugs because not only it is cheaper but easily available,'' Justice Sema, while appealing to reconsider the laws, said.

He was joined by Asom Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, who also advocated withdrawal of the total Prohibition policy. ''A large part of Asom is Tribal dominated and liquor is considered as part of social life. I cannot be prohibited. Instead people should be made aware about the negative aspects of it,'' the Chief Minister said.

Mr Sema asserted that no legislation could be imposed on people unless that was well understood and accepted by people.

Chief Justice Blakrishnan also expressed serious concern over the drug trafficking as well as the victims of the HIV and AIDS.

''These states are more vulnerable because proximity to international boundary. Literacy rate in the North east is very high.

Yet both drug abuse and HIV cases are comparatively higher in the North East. We have to sensitise the judiciary and police,'' he said.

The two-day long seminar would bring together the legal fraternity, NGOs working on drug rehabilitation and HIV/AIDS. The National legal Service Authority(NLSA) would sensitize the judiciary about the problems in these two sectors.

UNI