Kerala - Kollam   

Excise launches anti-liquor drive

Staff Reporter

Gurudasan seeks people's cooperation for the campaign

KOLLAM: Excise Minister P.K. Gurudasan has said the flow of unauthorised liquor is creating major problems for the State.

Inaugurating a State-level awareness campaign organised by the Excise Department against liquor consumption and drug abuse here on Tuesday, Mr. Gurudasan said that in spite of the alarming situation on account of this, society was not taking up the issue in the desired manner.

A good portion of the people's earnings was spent on liquor. This was a huge loss for the State. Had the money remained in the State, it could have utilised for some productive projects. In the era of globalisation, if the State was to grow, the resources should be judiciously utilised.

While the State had the reputation of making progress in the social and educational sectors, unfortunately it earned notoriety as the biggest consumer of liquor in the country. Liquor and drug addiction, especially among the younger generation, was increasing in the State.

The general misunderstanding was that the Excise was a department meant for promoting the sales of authorised liquor. But the prime function of the department was to control liquor sales. The cooperation of the people was essential for the successful functioning of the department. Only then could the department do its duty of redeeming society from the grip of liquor, Mr. Gurudasan said.

Drugs and terrorism

In his presidential address, Mayor N. Padmalochanan said the periphery of most higher secondary schools in the district had become operational areas of drug peddlers. Presenting the subject, Marxist ideologue P. Govinda Pillai said that total prohibition had never been a practical measure to control liquor consumption and addiction.

In fact, prohibition often boomeranged. Instead, concerted campaigns were found to be a major success in the fight against liquor addiction and drug abuse.

In his keynote address, former Additional Chief Secretary D. Babu Paul said that in spite of the debate over the success of prohibition, it was a fact that prohibition did serve its purpose to a large extent.

P. Rajendran, MP, district panchayat president K. Devaki, District Collector B. Srinivas, CPI(M) district secretary K. Rajagopal, DCC president Sooranand Rajasekharan, CPI district secretary K. Prakash Babu and former Mayor Sabida Beegum spoke.

Excise Commissioner V. Venu welcomed the gathering and Assistant Excise Commissioner K.N. Mohanlal proposed the vote of thanks.

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