Under the new excise policy that the Madhya Pradesh cabinet approved on Sunday, ahatas (areas attached to a liquor shop where customers can drink) and shop bars have been shut down.
The declaration coincides with Uma Bharti, a top Bharat Janata Party politician, calling for a “restricted liquor policy” in MP.
“The state has closed all ahatas and store bars. From this point forward, stores will sell alcohol, and drinking establishments will no longer be permitted “Narottam Mishra, the state’s minister of the interior, spoke following the cabinet meeting on Sunday night.
The state government’s spokesperson, Mr. Mishra, stated that the distance between liquor stores and educational facilities, girls’ dormitories, and places of worship is being increased from 50 metres to 100 metres, and the laws governing licence cancellations for drunk driving will be stricter.
“Since 2010, no new stores have opened in the state as Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been attempting to discourage the consumption of alcohol. Shops, on the other hand, were shut. 64 stores in the state were shuttered during the Narmada Seva Yatra. Also intended to reduce alcohol use is the new excise policy, “added Mr. Mishra.
Ms. Bharti has been advocating against alcohol use and has urged the BJP administration of Shivraj Singh Chouhan not to take advantage of people’s drinking habits by enacting a lax excise policy.
In Orchha, a town in the Niwari area known for its temples and palaces, she chained two cows in front of a liquor store and encouraged people to drink milk instead of alcohol as part of her “madhushala mein gaushala” (cowshed in liquor vend) promotion.
She had previously thrown excrement at this store in opposition to the sale of alcohol.
Ms. Bharti, who began her campaign by calling for complete prohibition, is now pleading for the legalisation of sales in the state, where Assembly elections are scheduled to take place at the end of the year.