Will all liquor be banned in Karnataka?

BANGALORE: Medical education minister Ramachandra Gowda has said the state - after banning arrack - is now considering a ban on other forms of liquor too. The move could prove wrong the contention that state governments cannot exist without revenues from the liquor business, Gowda said at a NIMHANS programme on Tuesday.
A proposal on these lines was made after NGOs and other groups challenged the government to ban all kinds of liquor, not just arrack. "I know many believe it is impractical. But someone has to make a beginning somewhere. We started by banning arrack. We can go step-by-step and prohibit rum, whisky, beer and other spirits,'' the minister said. Later saying this is his personal view, Gowda said it can be evolved into a government policy. "I am of the opinion that betting on horse races should be banned. Since that seems difficult, we are starting by shifting the race course out of city limits,'' he explained. This has rekindled debate on whether prohibition is a practical idea. While chief minister B S Yeddyurappa has maintained that total prohibition is impossible to implement, Gowda believes alcohol should be banned to ensure overall health of society. Gujarat is the only state to have total prohibition since Independence. Partial prohibition exists in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and some North-Eastern states like Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. Some of these states have switched back and forth between policies of prohibition and temperance. Smaller private initiatives like Association of Resource Managers against Drug Abuse (Armada) have been considerably successful.
"The ILO has appreciated the efforts of the Armada-backed de-addiction programme in the KSRTC,'' recalled DGP R Sri Kumar who introduced the scheme in KSRTC in the late '90s.
source : TOI