The Liquor Ban part 02

 In the previous post i discussed how within months of the ban, alcohol again was made available in the market though not openly. 

The price tag of the alcohol which was being sold was twice sometimes thrice or even more of the MRP, this meant two things. 

First, few people were able to afford it (i.e. the rich and the upper middle class could and the lower middle class and the working class(daily wage workers) couldn't afford it(this will be important later on)). 

Second, since the price tags were 200 to 300% higher than before the profits had also increased 200-300%, profit margins this high was very lucrative hence more and more players started to jump in the business, there was little to no risk involved since they could pay off the police to look the other way while they conducted their "business". 

This was the masterstroke of Nitish Kumar, with one move he made a name for himself on the national political stage, got free PR by claiming that he has banned alcohol in Bihar, he got the votes of women and along with that he successfully established a black market which will now share it's revenue with the police, the politicians. The money which could have gone to the government in form of tax will now go into the pockets of crooked officers and politicians. 

This is bad enough on its own, but it gets worse. Remember when we talked about some people not able to afford the smuggled alcohol, that is a significant chunk of the population and their alcohol demands haven't been fulfilled yet.

This demand was going to be fulfilled by Desi Sharab. Factories were being set to make the Desi Sharab to meet the demand(factory in this context can be set up in an area as small as 100 sq. ft.). But as it turns out making alcohol is more complicated than smuggling it, there are a number of things which can go wrong, methanol is one such chemical. While fermentation small amounts of methanol is produced with ethanol, but incase of improper distillation, it can lead to the methanol getting concentrated. 

Most of the people who are running these factories lack the knowledge, experience or the equipment to make and distill the alcohol, absence of any of those 3 things can be drastic, and often these people lack all 3. This is the perfect combination for a tragedy and regardless to say, Bihar has been infamous for multiple deaths every year due to alcohol poisoning. 

These factories are extremely hard to get rid off because they can be set up in very small quarters, the police is already short staffed. Even if they seize and destroy one factory, ten more will emerge to fill the void. 

The small scale factories are run mostly by people who are extremely poor and more often than not it is the only way they can make a living.

She has seen others arrested in police raids but feels she has no choice but to continue, "I do not have food in my belly," she says. "What else can i do? Beg?"

Conclusion

Pros-

1. The alcohol ban has resulted in a decrease of domestic violence,(though i couldn't find any reliable data on it)

Cons- 

1. The state's economy took a massive hit when the alcohol was banned. Since the state have no industries whatsoever, the revenue from alcohol was significant. 

"Bihar, already figuring among the fiscally most vulnerable states in the country, chose to forego a large chunk of revenue by imposing prohibition. While no positive consequence has flowed out of prohibition, the policy played its part in further driving the state into penury. For 2015-16, state excise money was estimated at INR 4,000 crores. Over the last seven years since prohibition was imposed, given the usual increment in excise earnings, the state has lost around INR 40,000 crores."

Link to the article- https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/bihar-prohibition-an-unmitigated-disaster

2. The ban created a black market and a sort of parallel economy which only benefits corrupt police officers, other administrators and corrupt politicians. This is the money that could have gone to the state's treasury, if the alcohol wasn't banned. 

3. The people who are economically stable have no problem buying the alcohol at higher rates, while the daily wage workers settle for "desi sharab" and die due to alcohol poisoning. 

A woman's thoughts on the ban who's husband died because of alcohol poisoning- 

Mrs Devi believed a properly enforced ban could have saved her husband, but she no longer believes it's possible. " They say it has been banned but the people selling it won't stop," she says. "Alcohol will never be stopped in Bihar". 

Link to the Article- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-11/india-deadly-prohibition-state-bihar/105010860

In the next part i will go over some more details and share some anecdotes and stories that i have witnessed firsthand since the ban.