Hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani today demanded a blanket ban on use and sale of liquor in Jammu and Kashmir while citing prohibition in other states. Geelani appealed to religious scholars to launch a sustained campaign against the use of liquor and make people aware about its ill effects on health, society and family relations. "It is encouraging that people in the state are raising their voice against this evil," Geelani said in a statement, adding "we hope everybody will play their role to eradicate this evil from society." Referring to a private member's bill on prohibition in the Assembly, the Hurriyat leader expressed surprise that the legislators had claimed that a ban on sale of liquor will hit revenue generation and cited the experience of other India states which have banned alcohol. "The other four states of India, which have completely banned the sale of liquor, do not complain of any loss of revenue and even nobody is dying from hunger or poverty," he said. Bihar, Gujarat and Nagaland have banned alcohol while Kerala to had introduced partial prohibition. Geelani said "liquor ismother of all evils and does not only cause cancer like diseases but also disturbs the social fabric by giving birth to many social evils". "Consumption of alcohol destroys the sacred and holy relations of the society and it has become a major cause of domestic violence," he claimed.
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