THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was on the Gandhi Jayanthi Day in 2009 that Sai Gramam, Thonnakkal, in Mudakkal grama panchayat which is the prestigious initiative of Sri Sathya Sai Orphanage Trust, launched its silent fight against alcohol. It held meetings in the 20 wards of the grama panchayat, spreading the message about the ill-effects of alcohol. Now, Mudakkal is on the threshold of making history. On Tuesday, the grama panchayat would be declared an ‘Alcohol-free grama panchayat’ at a function to be held at Sai Gramam. Excise Minister K Babu will make the declaration at a function to be held from 4 pm onwards. Sai Gramam, now six years old, had launched a strong fight against alcohol sans any picketing or fast and the result was that the toddy shops closed one after the other once they stopped getting any business. The message that alcohol consumption is injurious to health reached the people of the grama panchayat, which has a total population of 43,104. “Thankfully, there are no outlets of Beverages Corporation in the panchayat. We are not claiming that alcohol consumption has completely stopped among the people. We are trying hard to make the panchayat free of alcohol and litigations. It was as part of making it litigation-free that ‘Lok Adalat’ was awarded to Sai Gramam,” said Sai Gramam authorities.Justice V R Krishna Iyer, chief patron of Sri Sathya Sai Orphanage Trust, will preside over the function to be held on Tuesday. Advocate Lenin, president of Mudakkal grama panchayat, who has worked hard for making the grama panchayat alcohol-free, will speak at the function. Usha Anithakumar, vice-president of the grama panchayat, Ilamba Unnikrishnan, Education, Health Standing Committee chairman of the grama panchayat and K N Anandakumar, Executive Director of the Trust, will be present.
Comments
0 comment