Bihar Excise Act will be applicable to toddy also

The new Liquor laws would also be applicable on toddy with same provision of capital punishment for those manufacturing and selling the illicit drink, a senior Excise department official said today.
"Anyone who manufactures and sells spurious toddy that causes death will attract the same penalty of capital sentence as is awarded in case of deaths from consumption of illicit foreign or country liquor," Assistant Excise Commissioner Omprakash Mandal told PTI.
Same penal provisions of the Bihar Excise (Amendment) Act, 2016 will be applicable against erring persons found indulging in manufacturing and selling of toddy, he added.
If any person is found taking toddy (a natural alcoholic drink made from the sap of palm trees) in public places, then he would attract the same penal provisions of the Act which is applicable to foreign and country liquor, the officer said.

"All the DMs have been asked to take action against those who manufacture, sell, transport and consume toddy on the lines of provisions for liquor," he said.
Toddy had been kept out of ambit of total ban on alcohol announced by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar last Tuesday.

Confusion prevailed on toddy before the CM made it clear that there was no immediate ban on drink from palm trees. But, he had said the 1991 rules in regard to toddy would be adhered to stringently.
The guidelines prohibit sale of toddy within 50 metres of places like hospital, educational institutions, religious places among others in towns and 100 metres radius in rural areas is prohibited.

It also does not allow opening of toddy shop at bazar haat, entrance point of such haat and densely populated area in a village.
In urban areas, it disallows opening of toddy shop near factory, petrol pump, railway station, railway yard, bus station besides national and state highways.