Anti-liquor movement; state-level conference

BANGALORE: In a bid to broaden the anti-liquor movement and make it dynamic, a state-level conference of all NGOs working for the cause will be organised shortly by Belthangady-based Jana Jagruti Vedike, an  arm of the Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatha Rural Development Project.Speaking to Express from Belthangady on Tuesday, JJV project co-ordinator Vivek Vincent Pais said that the need for such a conference had arisen with the recent phenomenon of sub-agents of licensed wine merchants selling liquor in villages in vehicles and houses.“We, who are working in the field of anti-liquor and de-addiction camps, have experienced this new trend of sub-agents of city-based wine merchants dotting the interior villages and supplying liquor to doorsteps in vehicles,” Pais said. “This, we are told is to enhance the quantum of sale of liquor, apparently on account of the pressure mounted by the Excise Department officials on wine merchants to increase sales, to earn more revenue. This is completely unethical and goes against the concept of a welfare state. In a bid to tackle this new-found hydra-headed menace, we have organised a conference where a multi-dimensional strategy will be evolved,” Pais explained.The proposed conference, likely to be held in the temple town of Dharmasthala or Belthangady shortly, will chalk out an action plan to end the menace by mounting pressure on the state government.“Our movement will definitely get a fillip if GP  members and officials at the grass-root level become proactive. They are mandated to curb such practices according to Section 49 and Section 50 of the Excise Act. The conference is expected to give a call to GP members to work towards building not only infrastructure but also a morally-healthy society,” Pias said.