The East Dimapur Area Village Council Chairman’s Forum (EDAVCCF) has come out against the 36-year-old Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition (NLTP) Act 1989, extending full support to Dimapur-based CSOs led by the Naga Council Dimapur in their demand for repeal of the Act.

In a statement, Aheto Yeputhomi, Convener, EDAVCCF, described the continued enforcement of the NLTP Act as “cruel paradox”, asserting that the Act enacted in the name of morality has severely damaged the moral, social and ethical lives of the people.

“Dimapur today has become the epicenter of illegal liquor circulation in Nagaland,” it said adding liquor is openly available in every locality, colony and roadside outlet, making a mockery of the law.

The Forum further stated that NLTP Act has not stopped drinking, instead, it has pushed drinkers into unsafe, secretive and morally corrosive environments.

“The so-called prohibition has normalized law-breaking amongst young and old,” it stated, adding the erosion of respect, for law and authority is one of the most damaging moral consequences of the NLTP Act.

It further stated that the unchecked sale of illicit liquor has fueled substance abuse, domestic violence, road accidents, and gang-related activities in and around Dimapur, besides the absence of regulation has allowed adulterated and spurious liquor to circulate freely, putting many lives at serious risk and leading to preventable health emergencies and deaths.

Download Nagaland Tribune app on Google Play

“The NLTP Act has also destroyed the values it claimed to protect by empowering illegal syndicates and anti-social elements who profit at the cost of someone else lives. Instead of moral reform, we are witnessing moral hypocrisy public condemnation on one hand and private indulgence on the other,” the Forum stated.

The EDAVCCF asserted that lifting the NLTP Act does not amount to promoting alcohol consumption, rather, it is a necessary step toward restoring moral accountability through regulation, transparency, and education.

It said a regulated liquor policy in Dimapur would restrict underage access, enforce strict penalties for violations, dismantle illegal networks, and restore the rule of law.

The Forum extended its support unequivocally on this demand and urged Government of Nagaland to initiate steps to lift the NLTP Act and introduce a strictly regulated liquor policy in Dimapur District.