Thin attendance at gambling dens

Patna: In a first,

Bacchus

lovers in Bihar are celebrating Diwali without booze, sparing policemen the additional workload of raiding gambling dens which registered thin attendance in the run-up to the festival of lights this time.

“Not that we didn’t gamble,” said a member of a premier city club, “but few turned up and something was amiss. No one lost any big amount as everyone was in his senses and instantly withdrew from the game the moment a few rounds were lost.”

Buddha Colony police station SHO Manoj Mohan confirmed not even a single arrest was made in connection with gambling in his police station area till Saturday night. He laughed off a question whether it had to do with prohibition, but admitted they used to arrest a number of gamblers during the week before Diwali.

Pirbahore police station SHO Nisar Ahmed ehoed his Buddha Colony counterpart. “We did arrest six gamblers from

Nayatola

under our police station area on Saturday. A sum of only Rs 4,000 was seized from their possession,”

Ahmed

said.

According to City SP (central) Chandan Kumar Kushwaha, the city on the Diwali eve also saw few, if any, ‘lehariya cut’ bikers who used to be a common sight on the eve of festivals before prohibition was enforced on April 5 this year. “You can even see people, including women, shop till midnight in marketplaces, including

Bailey Road

near Patna Women’s College where a large number of makeshift shops selling Diwali items have come up,” he said, attributing the overall change in the law and order scenario for the better -- both real and perceived -- to the complete ban on liquor.