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Our Correspondent
Imphal, Jan. 28 (EMN): In a move to explore the status of local liquor brewing practices, a four member select committee on the Manipur Liquor Prohibition (Second Amendment) Bill, 2018 led by the deputy chief minister, Yumnam Joykumar Singh, visited Sekmai and Phayeng villages in Manipur on Tuesday.
The committee members included MLAs K Meghachandra Singh from Wangkhem, Fajur Rahim from Wabagai, and H Dingo Singh from Sekmai. The members first visited liquor manufacturing centres at Sekmai Awang Leikai, about 20 km north of Imphal, wherein the team had a brief interaction with the brewers.
Later, the team visited local liquor manufacturing centres at Phayeng village, 15 km west of Imphal, and interacted with the locals about their manufacturing practices.
Speaking to reporters at Phayeng village, Joykumar Singh stated that the team inspected how the local liquor is made at Sekmai and Phayeng. Informing that the committee has been seeking opinions and suggestions on the Manipur Liquor Prohibition (Second Amendment) Bill, 2018, Joykumar said the select committee would hold a discussion for further necessary steps.
The joint secretary of Manipur assembly, Rohit Sapam, also accompanied the committee.
Manipur was declared a dry state in 1991 after enacting the Manipur Liquor Prohibition Act, 1991, and the Act was amended in 2002 to allow brewing of liquor in tribal areas under their own customary law.
In July 2018, the Manipur government tabled the Manipur Liquor Prohibition (Second Amendment Bill), 2018, during a two-day monsoon assembly session.
The Bill, which aimed at legalising local liquor brewing in valley areas and exporting it by controlling its qualities, was however not passed but referred to a select committee.