The liquor association in Uttar Pradesh today staged a protest in Lucknow against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's move to ban liquor in the state.
Kanhaiya Kumar, the liquor association's general secretary, said that they would show black flags and raise slogans asking the Bihar Chief Minister to 'go back'.
"Uttar Pradesh liquor association is protesting against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. We want to say that it is impossible to ban liquor here. There are around 27,000 shops of liquor in UP and around 20 lakh people are in the business. A ban on liquor sale will affect the livelihood of all these people," he added.
He further said that the ban would incur loss to the state revenue.
Following the prohibition on country made liquor in the state, the Bihar Government banned liquor last month, making it the fourth dry state in the country after Gujarat, Kerala and Nagaland.
The Bihar Chief Minister had earlier said that hotels and bars would not serve alcohol anymore and no license will be given, while adding that Army canteens will continue to sell alcohol.
During the assembly elections, Nitish had promised to start a people's movement against liquor in the state and ensure that the ban on liquor is effectively implemented.
In 2014-15, the excise collection from the liquor in the state was Rs. 3,700 crore while the target for 2015-16 was set at Rs. 4,000 crore.
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