In what must be considered a radical shift from the status quo, Finance Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, in his budget speech for the current year, outlined that the government would make more systematic the sale of alcoholic beverages in the country by banning their unlicensed sale. The reality in the past had been that there were laws to regulate the sale and distribution of liquor in the market but there was a visible lack its effective implementation. Such a tendency from the law enforcement agencies saw a spurt in the opening up of not only licensed outlets but also the disturbing sale of illicit alcohol not permitted by the authorities concerned. Such an open sale of liquor, as claimed by Home Minister Bamdev Gautam, invited upsurge in crimes and other social anomalies. The claim is backed by a review of criminal incidents and the social ills that seem to have spawned in the country mainly in the urban centres. The cutoff day was the 18th of November. That day saw the law come into effect in earnest. What must be remembered in this context is that the preparations for seeing the implementation of the related law was reflected through advertisements, distribution of pamphlets, the face-to-face interactions with the vendors. And, this time around, the sellers were more than eager to comply with the new regulations because of the fear of stiff penalties.

The highlights of the new regulation include many steps which had not been tried before. For example, the necessity of designated outlets for the sale of alcoholic drinks and tobacco products and the timing fixed between 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. provided the vendors have obtained a licence from the office concerned, that is, the Inland Revenue Department. It is not only designed to monitor the sales but also aimed at plugging the leakage of revenue, as the rule also makes it mandatory for every liquor bottle to carry the sticker of the Inland Revenue Department. If the monitoring aspect goes well, with adequate manpower assigned to the task, the government can see results soon. Sincerity must be maintained to curb the free sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages which have been seen to contribute much to the disturbance of peace in the society. The thing to be borne in mind is that outright prohibition has not been imposed but an effort has been made at transparency regarding liquor sales.

It makes sense when unbridled alcohol consumption is on the rise in the country. This is the

reason why the urban centres, where the consumption is very high, have been selected for the implementation of the law regarding the sale and distribution of liquor. The government steps can be welcomed if the monitoring is commensurate. This is where the whole effort may founder. The initial day of the implementation of the new liquor law has seen added flurry of activity on the part of the vendors to register themselves. Now, the problem before the government is to come down heavily on those who flout the regulation, particularly the thousands of small shops selling illicit alcohol. This will be a real test for the government. However, a beginning has been made.