Chief Minister N Biren has said that there would be certain regulations on the sale of liquor regarding the place of sale, age regulation etc in the State . The Manipur Liquor Law will be formulated by taking care of the suggestions and feedback from experts and even Civil society organisations.
Reiterating that the Cabinet decision to lift the prohibition on the sale and consumption of liquor from the State was taken after holding a thorough discussion and taking recommendations from committees formed earlier in this regard, Chief minister N Biren has said the Government is drafting a rule in this regard and sought suggestions from Civil Society Organisations and experts.
The Chief Minister was addressing the gathering at the launch programme of the 1st Batch Trainees of the State Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition (SIHM), Manipur and Interaction of Chief Minister, Manipur through video conferencing with trainees of “Industry Link Training Programme of 2000 Trainees for ITES” held at City Convention Centre today. The programme was organized by the Department of Tourism and Department of Information & Technology, Government of Manipur.
Elaborating on the lifting of prohibition, the Chief Minister stated that some communities have been producing local liquor as part of their custom and as such the Government hadn’t been able to ban such production. Therefore, a team from outside the State had been engaged to check the process of the production in such places and to bring up to a certain level of standard so that the liquors could be exported outside the State.
He further stated that the Government is planning to establish a beer factory in the State using locally produced raw ingredients like pineapple and ginger. He continued that as people from outside the State are becoming fond of our horticulture products, our local brews could be exported outside. This would also encourage those people who had earlier carried poppy plantations to replace it with alternative crops like pineapple and ginger.
Expressing that the State Government has taken the step not only for earning revenue but also considering the health of the people, he informed that the Government is drafting a rule preferably a Manipur Liquor Law in this regard and sought suggestions from Civil Society Organisations and experts.
N Biren also maintained that Manipur is going forward in every field of development and no one can deny it. With access to advanced technology, we can now see what is happening in different parts of the world and as such, we should put all efforts to bring up Manipur on the world platform, he added.
Continuing his speech, N. Biren stated that the State’s future lies in the tourism sector and so the State Government has been putting in every effort to bring positive change to the State. Mentioning that the State’s scenic beauty, its climate and the decency of people are praised by many tourists, he added that the State Government has started developing many tourist spots including Sangai Ethnic Park at Moirang Khunou, Loktak Lake, INA Memorial and the 120 feet tall Sagol Kangjei statue at Marjing. Apprising the idea of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to let the world know what we are, N Biren stressed the need to promote our own culture and traditions.
The Chief Minister also informed that the State Government had completed recruitment and announcement of the result of 4,500 posts of Government services in the last five years out of 12,500 vacant posts of various Departments of the State. Results for around 5,500 posts are yet to be announced. The Government is working to fill various other vacant posts, he added.
N Biren further expressed happiness on learning that staff appointed for the functioning of the State Institute of Hotel Management are from the State itself and that students from different parts of the State are pursuing the course. Wishing all the students in their future endeavours, he appealed to the youths to work for the service of the State adding that the future of Manipur lies with the youths.