Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, on Thursday, warned the citizens of the state to avoid consumption of alcohol. The death toll in Bihar's hooch tragedy has risen to 39. This is a result of consumption of spurious liquor by the public in Saran district of Bihar. The chief minister had repeatedly urged the state to ban the liquor in Bihar, and issued a menacing warning to the public that whoever drinks alcohol will die.

The result is right in front of the people, added Nitish Kumar. Unfortunately, a total of 39 people died in the Saran tragedy. Bihar witnessed a ban on liquor in the year 2016, however, the prohibition policy was quite controversial. The minister further announced that the concerned department of the state will now nab people involved in alcohol businesses. Concerned about the harsh consequences, Nitish Kumar also informed the media that an amount of Rs 1 lakh will be provided to the people to start legal businesses. If needed, the amount could be negotiated but no one should carry out alcohol business. He also directed the officials to not arrest the poor ones.

It came to light that several people has given up on alcohol abiding by the prohibition law but there exist a few troublemakers in the state till now. The police officials now have to identify these persons and take them into custody. On Thursday, the Bihar episode was brought up by the opposition party in Parliament. They created an issue in the Parliament after which Rajya Sabha was adjourned for 15 minutes

Nitish Kumar had to face a backlash from the BJP regarding the recent Saran hooch tragedy, on which Kumar lost his temper and slammed the BJP as drunkards. The BJP Lok Sabha members blamed the Bihar government for a 'mass murder' and requested the centre to take legal action against it. The party holds the government responsible for the hooch tragedy. They are of the view that, despite prohibition in the state, marketing and consumption of spurious liquors has still not ended in Bihar.