Chennai: A quiet anti-liquor campaign is slowly gaining impetus even as more videos showing kids below the age of 5 being forced to consume alcohol emerging on Whats App and social networking sites. Initiated by the Chennai-based Satta Panchayat Iyakkam (SPI), an organisation against liquor and to create legal awareness, the campaign is going viral, drawing more supporters. “We have in the last one month and a half received 14,000 missed calls on 81441-66099,” said an SPI volunteer.
If kids were forced to drink, they will become alcohol addicts by the time they reach teenage, observed activist Siva Elango, when DC contacted him. SPI began the missed call campaign in a full-fledged manner in May this year though the volunteers had been trying to push the idea since last year. “The response is good,” he added. For every missed call, the caller will get an SMS asking him or to provide their name and address if they want to join the struggle in a bigger way.
“There will be different category of people and they would extend support in different ways. Some of them will be ready to join the struggle against liquor shops in their areas. Some will be ready to join the protest anywhere. Some others will be ready for only moral support. “There will be also people who want to help in ways like readying banners and posters. So we categorise them and seek help accordingly,” said Siva Elango when asked about the plan to strengthen the fight against Tasmac outlets in the State.
Though SPI had managed to close down as many as 13 Tasmac shops so far, another new 10 shops were opened in the same neighbourhood by the state agency. The SPI is advocating the idea that the state government should introduce prohibition in a phased manner. “Initially the government can reduce the number of hours of Tasmac shops functioning. Then they should cut down the number of Tasmac outlets. There should not be any bar attached to Tasmac outlets,” he said. The SPI also insists that there should be more de-addiction centres and rehabilitation facilities in the State to help out alcohol addicts.
Give liquor quality check details to activist: Madras High Court
Dismissing a PIL seeking a directive to authorities to test all varieties of liquor being sold, the Madras high court has however asked Tasmac to provide details of quality checks undertaken by it within a month to a social activist. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice T. S. Sivagnanam dismissed the PIL filed by G. Devarajan, which also sought a direction to authorities to do a thorough study to find out which liquor had the highest toxic chemical prevalence against the recommended quality, the variety of toxic substances present, details of action against the substandard quality supplied to Tasmac and if necessary initiate legal action against the liquor manufacturers concerned and ban the liquor sales through Tasmac.
The bench said the petitioner through this PIL seeks to raise the issue of the alleged toxic substances contained in the liquor sold by Tasmac. It was his case that he sought information about the checks carried out by the Tasmac in this behalf. He also sought information under the Right to Information Act. However, all this happened in 2010. After that, there had been a long period of silence except on a yearly representation in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
The court said it was of the view that the petitioner had not made any endeavour to check out the current position before coming to court. Not only that, the last representation sent by him is dated June 24, 2015.“Thus, nearly about 10 days or so after the representation would have been received, the petitioner had moved the court. This representation appeared to be just a formality.
Even the last representation was very general in character. We are, thus, not inclined to entertain the PIL”, the Bench said.
Parties express concern over video
PMK and MDMK on Wednesday expressed concern over shocking videos of some children in the state consuming liquor going viral and stepped up demand for implementing prohibition in the state. In a statement here, PMK founder Dr Anbumani Ramadoss said making children drink and recording it amounted to ‘sadism’, adding it was a criminal act to alter the nature of the kid.
Dubbing the incidents as evolutionary growth of policies of the Dravidian parties, he referred to government selling liquor through-state run outlets. Claiming the average drinking age had shrunk from 40 to 13 in the state, he said that the instances of children consuming alcohol should not be seen as isolated incident.
MDMK chief Vaiko said that alcohol consumption in the state had affected its very culture and traditions deeply cherished for long. A meeting of the party’s High Level Committee held here proposed to hold a marathon in Madurai in September.
