Panel to study 1,000 cases in each district
Picture for representational purpose.
Kochi: Eduardo Galeano, the well known writer from Uruguay, in his book Mirrors: Stories of Almost Everyone, quotes an ancient Sumerian proverb to exonerate drinks in case of a road accident. “Beer is good, what’s bad is the road”, says the Sumerian proverb. But, such humour may not appear politically correct in Kerala with the Government bracing to convert the State into a paradise of total prohibition. The social, economic and health costs are the main reasons highlighted by the people supporting prohibition. The people of Kerala, with its reputation of having the highest per capita consumption of alcohol, are facing a series of health problems related to alcohol, says Adv Charly Paul, general convener of the State-level coordination committee for prohibition.
According to him, around eight lakh people in the State are suffering from liver cirrhosis directly linked to alcohol consumption while a majority of people dying due to cardiac related problems in the State also have a history of alcohol abuse. Welcoming the decision of the State Government to implement prohibition in a phased manner, Adv Charly Paul is of the opinion that limiting the availability will have a positive impact on the overall situation.
“In the 1950s the average age of people consuming liquor in the State was 28. It came down to 19 years in the 1980s and 17 years in the 1990s. Currently, people in the age group 10-12 are found using alcohol”, he said, demanding a ban on its sale.The champions of prohibition are not impressed by the failure of prohibition to impact the availability of liquor in many foreign countries such as US or in States like Gujarat in India. “The threat of bootlegging cannot be held as a reason for not imposing prohibition. Prohibition is only one step towards a liquor-free society”, says Adv Charly.
Opting for a Gandhian path on the matter of liquor policy is a welcome step, said Fr Vargheese Kallappara, spokesman of the Jacobite Syrian Church.
History of prohibition:
The demand for prohibition has a long history since the formation of the united Kerala in1956. Even after the formation of Kerala much of the Malabar region, part of the erstwhile Madras Presidency, remained under prohibition. According to a Government report in 1957, 42 per cent of the population in the State was living in a dry area while the rest, mainly in the Travancore-Cochin region, in the wet areas. The State Government headed by E.M.S.Namboodirippad lifted prohibition completely in 1967. Justifying the decision, EMS stated that ‘in principle drinking cannot be considered a mistake”.
The prohibition movement became active in the State again in 1978 with the formation of the State level Prohibition Council headed by Lakshmi Menon as part of the All India Prohibition Council. The late Prof M.P.Manmathan took up leadership and then it slowly became a mass movement drawing various strata of society into it. The champions of prohibition got a morale boost in 1996 when the State Government banned the sale and production of arrack in the State.
( Source : dc )
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