The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Freely flows arrack in western suburbs

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 29, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Freely flows arrack in western suburbs

K. Manikandan

''It is smuggled in from Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur''

RESURFACING : Empty sachets of arrack lie in a heap on the bund of the Chembarambakkam lake near Sirukalathur village in Kundrathur panchayat. — Photo : K. Manikandan

TAMBARAM : True to its reputation of being an infamous hub for antisocial and criminal activities, many villages on the western fringes of Chennai in the Poonamallee-Porur-Kunrathur belt witness a free supply of arrack.

The easy access which villagers have to the brew is baffling residents here. Many residents are unhappy that government agencies, particularly the police department, have given anti-social elements such a free hand.

Villagers in this area feel that there has hardly been a tangible improvement in law and order situation even after police stations here were amalgamated with the Greater Chennai.

Reign of terror

Take, for instance, Sirukalathur village in Kunrathur panchayat union of Kancheepuram district that was witness to a reign of terror on Sunday when armed gangs damaged property belonging to the former All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president of the panchayat.

At Sirukalathur, the sources for arrack are as much an open secret as the identity of the key suppliers.

Members of women self-help groups of the village recalled that a few years ago, miscreants used to consume arrack on the premises of the only government school in their village. There was a crackdown on hooch in the wake of tragedies in Tiruvallur district. After a brief `dry' period, it was only a matter of time before arrack resurfaced.

The brew is freely available in the village, whether it is a popular hangout for men under a banyan tree in a corner of the village or the bus-stop on the Sriperumbudur-Kunrathur stretch, from where emptied sachets are thrown into the bund of the Chembarambakkam lake.

The bund is virtually blanketed by empty sachets, a pointer to its free availability in the region.

Residents feel that more than police initiatives, political will has to be mobilised to root out this menace.

They are, however, unsure if politicians and elected representatives will ever initiate a crackdown as it is well known that elections at all levels are funded by revenue from the sale of arrack.

Police sources said that arrack was being smuggled in by carriers from neighbouring Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur police districts.

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