RAMANATHAPURAM
Veteran Congress leader Kumari Ananthan led hundreds of men and women in a ‘padayatra’ here on Wednesday, urging the State government to declare the island ‘liquor-free’ and make it a ‘punya bhoomi’.
Addressing the rally after walking down the six-km stretch from Thangachimadam to Pamban, the octogenarian leader said as scores of people from across the country and abroad visited the pilgrim island, the government should make the island liquor-free.
Quoting Tamil poet V . Ramalingam Pillai, popularly known as Namakkal Kavignar, Mr. Ananthan said one could earn ‘punya’ by fighting against the evils of drinking and the government could earn ‘punya’ by imposing a total prohibition in the State.
After the Supreme Court ordered the closure of shops located on State and National Highways, the State government had closed eight shops in the island, but was trying to relocate them in other places. Presently three shops were selling liquor in Pamban, he said, and urged the government to close them and free the district from liquor.
Mr Anandan said he had been fighting against the menace of liquor after launching a movement and was happy that women have come to the streets, demanding the closure of liquor shops throughout the state.
He said former chief minister Jayalalithaa, ahead of the 2016 assembly elections had promised in the election manifesto to impose prohibition in a phased manner and total prohibition by 2020. However, the present government was relocating liquor shops after closing them on the highways, he said. This went against her promise and amounted to betraying her soul, he said.
Availability of liquor has ruined the lives of the fishers in the island as the fishermen who risked their lives in the high seas, spent most of their hard earned money on buying liquor, he said.
Mr Thillai Bakiyam, convenor of the ‘Gandhi, Periyar, Kamarajar poorana madhuvilakku makkal iyakkam’ organised the padayatra. Swami Pranavananda, TMC leader A Ravichandra Ramavanni and BJP leader M Muraleedharan were among others participated in the rally.
