In Kankarbagh, an upscale locality in the heart of Patna, ‘pure milk’ does not mean any packet of pasteurized milk. It is a code word for expensive blended Scotch whisky, which comes in a tetra pack to avoid prying eyes.In dry Bihar, where prohibition for the past 10 years has turned ‘sonapapdi’ into code for expensive alcohol — smuggled from Jharkhand, UP and Bengal — the illicit business isn’t just surviving; it’s thriving, like a highstakes game of cat-and-mouse.In many district towns and in state capital Patna, ‘samosewala’, ‘grocerywala’ and ‘sanyasi baba’ are code words for young boys who ensure timely home delivery of IMFL (India-made foreign liquor).Bihar has been ‘dry’ since April 2016, but that’s only on paper. In reality, it’s a thirsty, thirsty land — with a meticulous home-delivery system, faster than most pizza deliveries.‘Sir, I deliver happiness’Prohibition has created a flourishing black market, where liquor is delivered to the doorstep by young agents who — according to opposition leaders — operate with the tacit understanding of a thriving, illicit supply chain.Even after a decade of complete ban on liquor, the demand for alcohol hasn’t died. It has just gone under the rug.Engaged in the racket of home delivery in many posh localities of Patna, ‘tuition ma’am’, ‘nurse ma’am’ and ‘parlourwali’ are codes for young women, who will deliver liquor.Meet Munna, a home-delivery agent in Patna. He wears a formal shirt, rides a scooter, and carries a laptop bag. “Sir, I deliver happiness,” he told this TOI correspondent, adding that the “happiness” was premium IMFL smuggled from UP or Jharkhand. Munna’s best trick is delivering bottles hidden inside a hollowed-out food carton of branded companies. He goes to homes posing as a ‘grocery-wala’.In mohallas of Patna, prohibition didn’t stop parties; it just made them hush-hush.Meet “Sanyasi Baba”, the unofficial CEO of a localised home-delivery network. While major apps deliver grocery in 10 minutes, Sanyasi’s network delivers in five minutes — for a premium of course, with prices jumping from Rs 200 to Rs 600 for a 180ml pack, depending on the brand.The system is almost foolproof: there are no shop or signboards, just a WhatsApp group called “Health & Fitness”. One message — “Need two protein shakes and two pure milk” — and a “milkman” arrives in minutes on a motorbike, carrying heavy milk cans.The prohibition policy remains one of India’s most contested social experiments, marked by measurable social benefits, heavy fiscal costs, and persistent enforcement failures. Introduced by then chief minister Nitish Kumar through the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, the ban was framed as a response to women’s demands to reduce alcoholism, poverty and domestic violence.A decade later, its record is sharply divided between improvements in household welfare and public health on one side, and revenue collapse, black-market expansion and judicial overload on the other.The legal market’s disappearance did not eliminate demand. Instead, it created space for a vast illicit trade. Estimates suggest that a parallel liquor economy, worth Rs 25,000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore, now operates in Bihar.Moreover, the decade-long prohibition has turned everyday citizens into inventive bootleggers, whose feats of engineering could give top mechanics a run for their money.Smugglers have recently adopted what the police call a “ninja technique”. In one case that went viral on social media, a man was caught in Feb with dozens of bottles hidden inside a hollowed-out plastic chair strapped to his motorcycle. Taking a page out of the blockbuster movie ‘Pushpa’, smugglers in Kishanganj district were caught transporting a haul of 862 litres of foreign liquor hidden under layers of fresh tomato and cabbage. The truck looked like a simple vegetable delivery en route to Muzaffarpur, but the scent of whisky eventually overpowered the aroma of the produce, giving the game away.In Nawada, police discovered a motorcycle, where the fuel tank was used entirely for liquor. To keep the bike running, the smugglers had installed a tiny, separate petrol box under the seat. Liquor pouches or bottles are also stuffed inside cut-out gas cylinders, water supply tankers and ambulances. In Saran, a tanker bearing govt slogans — such as “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” and “Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao” — was found stuffed with 330 cartons of Haryana-made whisky.What’s your poison?The ban also wiped out a large legal retail economy. Before prohibition, Bihar had around 5,480 licensed liquor shops, supporting the livelihoods of an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 families.While the scale of criminal enforcement has been staggering, with 16 lakh tipplers being arrested in the last 10 years and 4.5 crore litres of liquor seized, there’s been another unintended consequence: a rise in substance abuse, which has wreaked havoc among youth.Ganja, opium, charas and cough syrups have become the go-to choices for habitual tipplers, who have no access to expensive alcohol.Another grave consequence has been the spread of spurious liquor. In rural areas, the failure to eliminate demand has encouraged the sale of low-quality — and, sometimes, toxic — alcohol, leading to repeated hooch tragedies. Over the decade, hundreds have died from methanol poisoning in districts, including Siwan, Begusarai and East Champaran. The scale of these deaths eventually forced the state govt to restore compensation of Rs 4 lakh for the victims’ families.Among younger users, prohibition appears to have shifted consumption patterns, rather than ending addiction. Studies have found that more than 25% of habitual drinkers moved to other substances: even synthetic drugs, apart from ganja and charas. This rise in ‘dry drugs’ has become one of the most worrying side-effects of the ban.As Bihar enters its second decade of prohibition, political unity around the policy is showing signs of stress. Women’s groups remain its strongest support base, but calls for reassessment are growing across party lines.While govt has shown no signs of retreat, with new chief minister, BJP’s Samrat Choudhary, saying the ban will stay, Bihar is at a crossroads. One path would involve a softer framework, perhaps closer to the Gujarat model of regulated permits. The other is to continue with rigid prohibition despite mounting evidence of leakage, black-market growth and institutional strain.Revenues pegged back➤ Pre-prohibition, Bihar earned 3,142 crore annually from excise duty. Cumulative revenue loss over 10 yrs is estimated to have crossed 30,000 crore➤ Bihar had 5,480 licensed liquor shops, supporting livelihoods of 30,000 to 40,000 families ➤ 58% of respondents in a Patna University survey said they have access to alcohol, often at twice the earlier market price ➤ Former CJI N V Ramana described Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, as an example of legislation drafted with a “lack of foresight”
