The people of Bihar wanted to be rid of the liquor industry and the menace of alcoholism in the state. However, the liquor-ban legislation in its current state has begun to reveal its true shape. It is being used to exploit the poor and the Dalits in Bihar. The legislation is drafted in such a way that the liquor mafia has been allowed some loopholes to escape from the ban, while the poor bear the full brunt. In Musahar and Dalit hamlets, women are being made the targets. There have been thousands of arrests; more than 40,000 cases are ongoing across the state. Despite all this, the illegal business of manufacturing and distributing liquor is still operating. This is not happening due to the poor and the Dalits. Rather, the administration and the liquor mafia is responsible for the continuing trade in liquor. Protests are also happening in many places against this.
On 18 May, thousands of women gathered in Bihta to gherao the police station, and to demand answers for the current situation regarding the liquor ban. They demanded that women should not be harassed under the garb of the liquor ban. The main gate of the police station was blocked for several hours during the protest. CPI(ML) leader Gopal Singh said that the police conducts raids in the name of enforcing the liquor ban, and during these raids it wrecks havoc in Dalit and Mahadalit hamlets. A memorandum of demands was submitted to the concerned officers. Immediate intervention was demanded. CPI(ML) leaders Gopal Singh, district councilor Poonam Singh, Bigan Majhi, Surendra Yadav, Rita Gupta, Jagannath Chaudhary, Santosh Majhi and others participated in this protest.
