Curb alcohol abuse among tribes: panel

Mmembers of the State Legislative Committee on Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes visit Thettuvadi tribal hamlet at Muttil in Wayanad district on Tuesday.

A sitting of the Legislative Committee on Welfare of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes directed the district administration to adopt measures against increasing alcohol consumption among tribal people in the district.

B. Sathyan, MLA and chairman of the committee, said after a review meeting on various welfare measures implemented for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes people, at the collectorate conference hall here on Tuesday that the intervention of outsiders in tribal settlements should be restricted as many a time tribal girls were sexually abused by outsiders after exploiting the addiction of tribesmen to alcohol.

The panel asked the Excise Department officials about its awareness programme to curb alcohol consumption among the marginalised sections of society.

The panel directed the district administration to adopt effective measures to curb drug addiction among tribal people. The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) officials told the panel that more than 12,000 tribal houses in the district were yet to be electrified as the authorities concerned had failed to complete the wiring works of the houses in a time-bound manner.

The amount allotted by the government for wiring works of a tribal house was Rs.4,000 a house and it was insufficient,

District Collector B.S. Thirumeni said. If the government increased the amount to Rs,10,000 for a house, the wiring works could be completed, Mr. Thirumeni said adding that he was awaiting a favourable order of the government for the purpose. It directed the District Development Committee to draft a comprehensive project to conserve the culture and tradition of tribesmen.

The panel collected grievances from the tribesmen on various issues relating to them, including corruption in tribal housing sector, landless issues and issues related to jobs.

The panel members, including I.C. Balakrishnan, Kovoor Kunhumon, Chittayam Gopakumar and O.R. Kelu, MLAs, attended the meet.

The panel also visited Thettuvadi tribal hamlet at Muttil in the district.