Serendipity : Musings of an Islander

Island villagers opposed to liquor outlets in their area – a success story By  Debkumar Bhadra Apropos news item “ V illagers oppose opening of liquor outlets in LA ” carried in E cho of I ndia dated A ugust 21, 2019. Through the columns of your esteemed daily, I would like to congratulate the villagers for raising objection against liquor outlet in L ittle A ndaman. My thanks are also due to E cho of I ndia for giving prominence to the news item. Representational Image It is well established fact that alcoholism is the mother of all evils, the root cause of deteriorating social values, failing morals, matrimonial discord, diminished productivity, loss of livelihood, poverty, poor health and a variety of other ailments. Women, children and a large section of the population belonging to the lower income group are the worst affected. Easy availability of liquor is adding to their woes; there are reports that say school going juveniles and youths are increasingly ...

My recent friend M r Y asir MB shared an article:   “ P unjab villages say no to booze, will move HC ” by N eel K amal & P arvesh S harma ( 9 F eb, 2011, TOI ), according to which hundreds of villages in P unjab's S angrur and P atiala districts are bracing for a legal battle with the state's excise department over proliferating booze trade. The panchayats in the area, where alcoholism touches nearly 60% of male population don't want liquor vends and plan to go to court to get rid of those booz vends. The unusual news prompted me to assess the scenario vis-à-vis liquor trade in our islands. Universally, alcoholism is considered the greatest threat to intellectual development and societal well being of a country. WHO estimates every year about 2.5 million people die from alcohol-related diseases the world over, accounting for 3.8 per cent of total deaths. Binge drinkers are prone to strokes, brain haemorrhage and a variety of psychiatric symptoms. Acoholism damages ...