KS Jawahar, the Excise Minister of Andhra Pradesh, reportedly termed beer to be a healthy drink. According to media reports, the excise minister said that beer is healthier than other types of liquor as it has lesser percentage of alcohol. KS Jawahar not only said that beer is healthy but also said that the government would promote its consumption more than other forms of alcohol.
According to a Times of India report, Jawahar, while explaining about Andhra Pradesh’s new excise policy and said that since they can’t change the drinking habits of the people, the government can at least try to make available drinks that have less alcohol.
His comments came while participating in a TV talk show on a regional channel.
“Andhra Pradesh has got its new excise policy which came into effect from July 1. The state cabinet also decided to denotify portions of highways passing through cities as urban or major district roads, removing them from the ambit of the Supreme Court guidelines,” said the minister, according to the TOI report.
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Also, the Andhra Pradesh government has plans of setting up round the clock ‘beer parlors’ attracting foreigners to tourism spots in the state. However, the government has not renewed licenses of 800 bars and liquor shops that are located on the highways. At other places, the shops are being relocated to outskirts of cities.
“We took the decision to redesignate highways passing through cities after studying the policies of Odisha, West Bengal, Karnataka, Telangana, and Rajasthan,” the minister said.
Several woman organisations are now criticising his statement and saying that they will protest it.
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