BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav announced on Thursday that liquor will be banned in 17 religious places across the state.
This is meant to combat social-economic problems arising out of liquor consumption, CM Yadav said at a pro-kabaddi tournament in Gotegaon town in Narsinghgarh district.
Officials wouldn’t name the 16 proposed liquor-free places, nor a date for the ban to come into effect, saying the cabinet would meet on this in temple town Maheshwar on Friday.
Sources, however, told TOI that the liquor ban could be implemented in Ujjain, Orchha, Salkanpur, Chitrakoot, Omkareshwar, Maheshwar, Maihar, Amarkantak, and Pashupatinath temple area of Mandsaur.
While Ujjain and Omkareshwar are Jyotirling sites, Maihar is a Shaktipeeth. Orchha has a Raja Ram Temple, where Lord Ram is worshipped as a king, Maheshwar is one of the most well known religious sites in the country, and Amarkantak is where River Narmada originates.
Liquor ban in MP has been a simmering political issue for over three decades. During the days of Congress govt under Digvijaya Singh, party MLA Subhash Yadav had raised the demand for prohibition. Friction between Singh and Yadav was well-known and his demand for a ban on liquor was seen as a move to embarrass the then CM.
Soon after taking over as chief minister, Uma Bharti in Jan 2004 declared Amarkantak and Maheshwar as “holy cities” and banned the sale of liquor and meat there. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who became CM after Bharti, extended the ban on sale of liquor at religious sites to Ujjain, Orchha and a few other places.
In the run-up to the 2018 assembly elections, Chouhan announced closure of liquor shops within 5km of river Narmada, leading to the relocation of nearly 60 liquor shops.
During Chouhan’s last stint as CM, Uma Bharti kept up the pressure for prohibition, going to the extent of hurling a stone and cow dung at liquor shops. In Feb 2023, Chouhan accepted Bharti’s demand and banned ‘ahatas’ (spaces adjoining liquor shops where people could sit and drink).
