KOCHI: Accusing the government of being indifferent to the rise of alcoholism and drug abuse in the state, the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Conference (KCBC) has said official efforts to arrest this trend are proving ineffective.
In a circular issued on Sunday, the KCBC’s temperance commission said the authorities’ apathy and inability to control such activities is worrying. On the contrary, the official line seems to be one of encouragement, as is evident from the rising number of liquor outlets, it said.
Anti-liquor and anti-drug activities are being carried out across 32 dioceses of the Catholic Church in the state, Bishop Ambrose Puthenveettil, commission chairman, said in the circular, read out in churches across state.
“In 2016, there were 29 bars in the state, and the front that came to power that year promised not to add even a drop of alcohol to what was available in the market. However, after coming to power, the government’s policy shifted towards liquor abstinence.
Without realising that abstinence is a decision for the individual, and that an elected government should initiate liquor prohibition, permits were granted to liquor outlets,” it said.
According to the commission, as a result of the policy decisions of the second LDF government, the state has been flooded with liquor outlets. With assembly elections round the corner, there are over 1,000 bars, 337 liquor outlets, and 5,071 toddy shops operating in the state, it said.
The argument advanced by authorities was that lack of availability of alcohol had led to increased use of dangerous narcotic drugs. Using this justification, licences for liquor outlets were widely granted. The government has sealed its legacy of expanding the liquor trade, it added.