Call to unite for total prohibition in Tamil Nadu
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State must provide rehabilitation for families of addicts: activists
C. Periyasamy (67) is a member of the ‘Youth Walk for
Liquor-free Society’ organised from Kanyakumari to Chennai by the
People’s Movement Against Liquor and Drugs (PMALD).
“The
days I spent interacting with people creating awareness of total
prohibition is what I consider the most meaningful period in my life,”
Mr. Periyasamy, a retired regional probation officer from Ariyalur, told
The Hindu
on Thursday at the Gandhi Memorial Museum.
M. Anandhi
Ammal from Chennai, who advocates total prohibition in the State, says
that the team came across a large number of women, who are victims of
domestic abuse because of liquor. “A woman, who works for daily wages,
told us that she is hesitant to return home every day after work fearing
abuse by her husband,” she says.
The team also
encountered a 10-year-old boy who asked if there was any medicine to
cure his father’s addiction to liquor, Ms. Anandhi Ammal adds. “Such
incidents gave us more determination to fight against liquor and all the
people should come together for total prohibition in the State,” she
further says.
They also met a few families where the
children had to drop out of schools to earn the bread after their
fathers became alcoholics. R. Senthamilselvi, another member of the
team, rues that a large number of school and college students are
becoming liquor addicts under peer pressure.
Liquor
addiction is one of the major reasons for the rise in number of crimes
in society, says S. Dhanaraj, coordinator of the walk. “In several
families, young girls are sent to textile mills for work under Sumangali
scheme and their fathers use the money to get drunk,” she claims.
In order to create awareness among youth, the team makes students take a pledge against drinking liquor in each district.
S.
Thiraviam (66), a visually challenged motor mechanic, notes that most
of the addicts they encountered vowed to stop drinking if the TASMAC
outlets were closed down. “They said they were unable to resist drinking
if the liquor is sold in every street,” he adds.
Besides
implementing total prohibition, the State should provide rehabilitation
for families of addicts for their better livelihood, says Inamul Hasan,
organiser of PMALD. “Involvement of civil society and students is
required to bring total prohibition in the State,” concludes the 26
year-old.
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/call-to-unite-for-total-prohibition-in-tamil-nadu/article6550914.ece