‘Pure milk’, ‘protein shakes’: How dry Bihar gets its high
- Madan Kumar
- TNNUpdated: Apr 30, 2026, 15:19 IST IST
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 high stakes game of cat-and-mouse.
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 high stakes game of cat-and-mouse.
