Wadettiwar aims to set up liquor trade in Gadchiroli: Dr Bang to CM

Nagpur: Noted social worker Dr Abhay Bang and his wife Dr Rani have rushed a letter to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray complaining that relief and rehabilitation minister Vijay Wadettiwar’s recent statement of lifting the liquor ban from Gadchiroli after Chandrapur has led to confusion and chaos.
The minister had told the media on May 29 that the ban was supported by activists driven by ‘vested interests’ and it lacked public support.
Accusing the minister of crossing his jurisdiction, the Ramon Magsaysay recipient claimed the former had deliberately made a statement of constituting a committee to lift prohibition. “He aims to set up an annual liquor trade worth Rs 1,000 crore in Chandrapur and Rs 500 crore in Gadchiroli. He’s superseding CM Uddhav Thackeray, deputy CM Ajit Pawar and guardian minister Eknath Shinde by making such a declaration without consulting them,” said Dr Bang.
Recounting on how the ban came into effect in the Naxal-infested district, the Maharashtra Bhushan awardee said it was implemented by NCP supremo Sharad Pawar in 1993 as CM after taking all the aspects into consideration.
“It was in line with the central and state governments’ ‘policy for tribal areas’. The district-wide alcohol-tobacco control experiment is under way under the ‘Alcohol-Tobacco Control State Level Task Force’ chaired by the CM. For this, 1,100 villages have set up ‘Muktipath’ organizations to continue the prohibition,” he said.
The founder of NGO SEARCH in the backward district said women had staged non-violent protests more than 2,000 times for banning alcohol in various villages. The ‘Adivasi Gram Sabha Mahasangh’ of 1,050 villages and five towns had sent proposals to the government in support of the ban.
“Even the collector and police are actively supporting such public awareness and non-violent campaigns. The masses are turning from Naxalism to democracy due to prohibition. Liquor consumption has dropped by 70% and 48,000 villagers have stopped consuming liquor. Expenditure on illicit liquor and tobacco too has reduced by about Rs 100 crore annually,” said the doctor.
Stressing on continuing the ban, the Padma Shree winner said during parliament, assembly and Gram Panchayat polls, a majority of contestants have to submit written and video recorded assurances to voters to support prohibition.
“After reviewing the Gadchiroli pattern in 2019, a working group of six ministers and an equal number of secretaries under the CM decided to implement it in two other districts,” the couple said, while requesting the CM to remove confusion created by his minister through his malafide statement.
Refuting charges, Wadettiwar warns of defamation case against Bang
Refuting Dr Abhay Bang’s allegations, minister Vijay Wadettiwar said the former seems to have lost his mind. He denied making any statement on lifting prohibition in Gadchiroli.
“I just replied to a media query on whether the Chandrapur model would be replicated in Gadchiroli. It’s up to the district guardian minister (Shinde) to take a decision in this regard. I am no one to comment on the issue and have absolutely nothing to do with the liquor trade,” he said.
Warning the veteran doctor of a defamation suit for making such baseless allegations, the Bramhapuri MLA asked him to produce evidence. “It’s nothing but a cheap publicity stunt by Dr Bang, who has hardly made any major contribution towards the development of Gadchiroli. He shouldn’t preach to others when his own house is in disorder,” said Wadettiwar.