Prohibition plans put on ice in India’s Kerala

A move to enforce partial Prohibition in India’s state of Kerala has been put on hold by the country’s top court, which has handed bars a temporary reprieve.

India’s Supreme Court has halted plans to enforce partial prohibition in the Kerala state

As reported in The Rakyat Post, while lawmakers had ratified a government anti-liquor policy in Kerala – India’s largest alcohol consuming state – last month, the country’s Supreme Court halted the plans following outrage in the state’s bar and hotel industry.

The initial ratified policy would see the closure of 730 bars in a move towards the implementation of total prohibition within 10 years under plans by Kerala’s leading United Democratic Front (UDF).

Today, the Supreme Court halted the government’s plan until 30 September in order to hear out the complaints of hoteliers and bar owners who claim the ban will hit the state’s tourism industry.

UDF initially proposed an outright ban on the sales of alcohol in the state in order to combat its apparent alcohol problem. Kerala has India’s highest per capita alcohol consumption at more than 8.3 per person yearly.

However, leading spirits producers in India recently hit out at the proposals, claiming they would simply escalate the illicit liquor market, which is already rife in India.