East Dimapur Area Village Council Chairman’s Forum supports lifting of NLTP ACT 1989.
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DIMAPUR — The East Dimapur Area Village Council Chairman’s Forum (EDAVCCF) has extended support to the demand for lifting of NLTP ACT 1989 by Dimapur-based CSOs led by the Naga Council Dimapur.
In a press release, the forum stated that the continued enforcement of the Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition (NLTP) Act has become a cruel paradox, saying an act enacted in the name of morality has, in reality, severely damaged the moral, social, and ethical lives of the people.
“Dimapur today has become the epicentre of illegal liquor circulation in Nagaland. Liquor is openly available in every locality, colony, and roadside outlet, making a mockery of the law.
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“People of different age groups, including school and college-going students, are being exposed to alcohol through unregulated and illegal networks. The NLTP Act has not stopped drinking; instead, it has pushed drinkers into unsafe, secretive, and morally corrosive environments,” the EDAVCCF stated.
It went on to state that the so-called prohibition has normalised law-breaking amongst young and old. When the law itself is routinely violated in full public view, it sends a dangerous message to the society—that illegality is acceptable and that rules exists only to be bypassed. It added that this erosion of respect for law and authority is one of the most damaging moral consequences of the NLTP Act.
The forum further claimed that the unchecked sale of illicit liquor has fuelled substance abuse, domestic violence, road accidents, and gang-related activities in and around Dimapur.
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, it added.
“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,” it affirmed.
The forum asserted that lifting the NLTP Act does not amount to promoting alcohol consumption, but is rather a necessary step toward restoring moral accountability through regulation, transparency, and education.
“A regulated liquor policy in Dimapur would restrict underage access, enforce strict penalties for violations, dismantle illegal networks, and restore the rule of law. Therefore, the East Dimapur Area Village Council Chairman's Forum extend its support unequivocally on this demand and seek Government of Nagaland to initiate steps to lift the NLTP Act and introduce a strictly regulated liquor policy in Dimapur district,” the forum added.