The government decision to reduce the distance of bars functioning in hotels from educational institutions and places of worship to 50 metres from the existing 200 metres was a deviation from the government policy, Syro-Malabar Church head Cardinal George Alencherry has said.
The government policy that supports the availability and use of alcohol should be corrected.
The Church will protest against the policy through democratic ways. The Church is of the view that the minimum distance should be more than 200 metres, he said. The condition that liquor outlets could function anywhere was unacceptable. The increase in the use of alcohol was an obstacle to social progress, he said.
The Temperance Commission of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council said it would launch an agitation against the State government’s decision. In a statement, it said the decision would directly contribute to the availability of liquor and, as such, the government had no moral right to talk about abstinence or run a campaign like Vimukthi. It also pointed out that the LDF, in its election manifesto, had promised that if it came to power, it would reduce the availability of liquor.
Diocesan-level bodies of the council would launch a Statewide agitation against the government’s move. A meeting has been scheduled for September 15 in Kottayam as part of the agitation, it said.
