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Dimapur, Sep. 24 (EMN): The Joint Council Purana Bazaar, a conglomeration of six colony councils, on Saturday organised a public rally in support of the Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition (NLTP) Act, 1989, and urged the authorities to enforce the law amid mushrooming illegal liquor shops in the area.
Participants, including students marched from Darogajan Bridge to Government Higher Secondary School in Dimapur, holding placards that read: “You can’t repeat the effect of alcohol”, “We want alcohol-free zone”, “Alcohol is the mother of all evil”, “Love your family, not alcohol”, “Stop drinking, start living”, etc.
The rally was also against all illegal activities within Purana Bazaar jurisdiction besides illegal liquor shops.
Informing that there are six colonies with seven sectors under Purana Bazaar, the convenor of Joint Council Purana Bazaar, East Dimapur, Vikugha Kappo said they were not only against sale of alcohol but also against those who allow such activities to thrive in their property (house).
This initiative is supported by the GBs, churches, and the general public of all six colonies, he he said, adding that as leaders of the colony, they would work for the welfare of the people and peaceful environment of the area.
Kappo lamented that the council had issued legal notices to alcohol sellers as well as house owners many times but people resume such activities after a few weeks. Maintaining that they can’t keep checking all the time, they appealed to the concerned authority to check illegal sale of alcohol in Purana Bazaar on a regular basis.
He went on to say that the council would take its own course of action if the authorities fail to pay heed to their request of enforcing NLTP Act in its jurisdiction.
The joint council also submitted a representation to the Commissioner of Police, Additional Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner of Excise Dimapur, appealing for enforcement of NLTP Act in Purana Bazaar.
It stated that illegal liquor shops have been operating in the area for a long time and the number has increased substantially overtime, making the environment unsafe for everyone and causing ‘a lot of trouble to individual, family and social life’.
“Many young men have lost lives to alcohol addiction, leaving their wives widowed and their children fatherless,” read the representation, adding that people are openly selling alcohol without any regard for the law of the state for years “with no effective monitoring agency to take punitive action on the bootleggers”.
Concerned about this issue, the Joint Council Purana Bazaar unanimously decided to raise voice against the existing illegal activities and alcohol-related social menace within its jurisdiction during a consultative meeting on September 3 at Purana Bazaar council hall, it stated.
It went on to request the District Administration, Excise department and Commissioner of Police, Dimapur, to implement the NLTP Act in its jurisdiction by deploying the law enforcing agencies and take action against the offenders under appropriate sections of the law. It also assured its assistance to the law enforcement agencies.