AIZAWL: Prohibition in force in Mizoram for one and a half decades now has been a ‘failure’ according to replies to a questionaire by a study group set up by the state government.
The Mizoram Journalists Association and the Mizoram Bar Association in their responses to the Study Group on Prohibition suggested that the dry law should be lifted and liquor should not be prohibited but properly regulated as in other states.
The powerful Young Mizo Association (YMA), the Mizo Hmeichhe Insuihkhawm Pawl (MHIP) or the apex women’s body, the Zoram Taxi Owners Association (ZTOA) and the Mizoram College Teachers Association (MCTA) all said in their replies that prohibition has been a total failure.
The study group is led by a retired IAS officer H Raltawna. He has sought an extension till the end of this month to submit his final report.
With the majority of the main civil societies expressing opinion that the Mizoram Liquor Total Prohibition Act, 1995 has not successful, Church leaders were adamant that the dry law was a success.
Prohibitionists, mainly church leaders, claimed that Mizo society has become cleaner and less dangerous especially for women and children after the imposition of the dry law in the state. (PTI)