Strongly opposing the government’s move to lift the prohibition order, Nupi Samaj president Thokchom Ramani on Thursday called on the government to save "our children", and said legalise liquor only if they consider choking the fate of the future pillars of Manipur.
"If the government is really concerned about the fate of Manipur's future, it should withdraw the cabinet decision to lift prohibition," she said during a protest held at Singjamei Bazar in Imphal West against the government's move to legalise selling and brewing of liquor in Manipur.
Calling for revoking the government's decision to legalise liquor, the protesters raised several slogans, including: “Let's save our children from falling into substance abuse”.
The Imas of Manipur are totally against the legalisation of liquor, Ramani told mediapersons. She said that the Imas of Manipur have been raising their voice against liquor for the last seven decades and it is unfortunate that due to the government's decision, consumption of liquor has become the root cause of crime against women, domestic violence and other hideous crimes.
In the backdrop of the government's decision to lift prohibition, many youths have started consuming liquor openly, she said, adding that it is an aggressive act of demoralising the morals and characters among youths, including women.
"When we tried to convince the youths about the ill-fated nature, the youths replied: go and ask CM Biren as he is the one giving us the permission," she said, adding, “It is indeed heart-breaking. We cannot tolerate this anymore.”
Stating that there is nothing which cannot be controlled by the government if they intend to, she appealed to the government to ban liquor considering the future of the state.
Participants of the sit-in protest, which was jointly organised by Nupi Samaj and the Coalition Against Drugs and Alcohol (CADA) in collaboration with the vendors association of Singjamei Bazar, also shouted slogan such as, “Liquor cannot be legalised at Manipur,” “Revoke the cabinet decision,” and “Let's save our children from falling into substance abuse” among others.
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