Representative image for liquor.
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The government on Monday declined to cede to the Opposition BJP’s demand to set aside 20 per cent of its revenue from liquor sales to help treatment of liver cirrhosis and jaundice caused by liquor consumption, saying all have to work together to bring reforms in society, to reduce alcohol consumption.
Leader of the House in Council and Minister N S Boseraju told the Council that the government was not encouraging alcohol consumption. Instead, it had increased prices, along with having temperance board and creating awareness about the dangers of alcohol consumption.
Estimation of liquor sale was made with an intention to check illegal sales, he said.
“There should be reforms in society. On humanitarian grounds, help is extended for treatment under CM’s relief fund. Treatments are available under PM Jana Arogya Yojana, National Health Mission, superspecialty hospitals and other health facilities. Health and excise departments do their work separately, they get shares for budgetary programmes using total revenue collected,” the minister said.
Raising the issue, Opposition Chief Whip N Ravikumar said the number of people affected by liver cirrhosis and jaundice was increasing due to increased liquor consumption because of higher sales target set by the government, also resulting in illegal liquor sale.
The government should reserve 20% of revenue from liquor sales to help treat these diseases on humanitarian grounds, he demanded.
“Poor people suffer from liver diseases for which treatment is expensive, but the government has increased the liquor sales target for 2025-26 to Rs 43,000 crore. Liquor consumers’ lifespan has come down and crimes also increase due to liquor consumption, while 2.2% deaths are due to liver diseases,” he said.
“If government helps such people to get cured, they may bring a little more revenue to the government,” Ravikumar said in a lighter vein.
Noting that 6.88 crore cases of liquor were sold in Karnataka though the population here is at ninth position in the country, K S Naveen (BJP) lamented that the state had only one government institute to treat liver cirrhosis and had only 30 gastroenterologists.
He demanded appointment of a gastroenterologist for each district and strict implementation of excise rules to check illegal liquor sales.
B K Hariprasad of Congress said liquor consumption had become a culture, alcohol consumption was not the only cause for liver problem and it was not right to blame Karnataka for this.
Congress’ Ramesh Babu said the Centre should take steps to check tobacco sales which causes cancer, a more dangerous disease.
While Shivakumar was against increasing the sales of liquor, BJP’s C T Ravi, Bharati Shetty and Hemalata Naik stressed the need to save youth from alcohol addiction