The Hindu : Kerala / Alappuzha News : Plea to rehabilitate liquor workers

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Saturday, May 07, 2005

Kerala

Kerala - Alappuzha

Plea to rehabilitate liquor workers

Staff Reporter

Government told to cancel licences of toddy shops

ALAPPUZHA: The Madya Vyavasa Thozhilali Samrakshana Samithy State committee on Friday urged the State Government to cancel the licenses of toddy shops, which had failed to appoint at least one country-made liquor shop worker who had lost his job following the ban on country-made liquor by the State Government.

The Samithy general secretary, K.P. Vidyadharan, and the Kerafed chairman, A. Murali, said at a press conference that the State Government implemented licensing system for toddy shops from 2003-04 on the condition that at least one worker of the country-made liquor shops who had lost his job would be rehabilitated in a toddy shop. But majority of those who gained licenses failed to do so, said Mr. Vidyadharan.

Mr. Vidyadharan said that the State Government had to suffer considerable losses when licensing system was implemented in place of auctioning system, which was in force earlier. In spite of the losses, the Government persisted with the licensing system with the aim of rehabilitating the workers of country-made liquor shops, said Mr. Vidyadharan.

He said owners of the licensed toddy shops were using workers of the Chethu Thozhilali Union to scuttle the appointment of former workers of country-made liquor shops in toddy shops. Those officials who were supposed to implement the Government order on rehabilitation of workers were also keeping mum on the subject, said Mr. Vidyadharan.

He demanded that the Government handover to jobless workers of country-made liquor shops those toddy shops which failed to appoint them.

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