Spirited move

The Akhilesh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh has a new source of worry — declining liquor sale across the state. So all district magistrates have been directed to assess the situation and suggest corrective measures. The government’s move to boost the sale of liquor in the state comes just a few months after it imposed a blanket ban on fresh licences for liquor shops on highways and refused to renew the licences of existing shops. Figures collected by the state government that time showed that drunken driving was the second biggest contributor to road casualties in the state. Stung by mounting road accidents from drunken driving, the government had also ordered invoking the Gangsters Act on all those selling illicit liquor.