PUDUCHERRY:The Students Federation of India (SFI) on Sunday urged the Tamil Nadu government to close 1,500 liquor shops that were reportedly functioning in the vicinity of schools.
In a resolution adopted at the 24th conference of the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry unitshere, the SFI said the TN government should make every effort to implement prohibition in the State. Another resolution charged the government of trying to suppress students’ agitations for prohibition. There are 6,823 TASMAC shops and more than 4,500 bars in Tamil Nadu, the resolution said and added that liquor was sold for a record Rs 26,000 crore during 2014 and the amount is set to reach Rs 30, 000 crore this year.
Pointing out that 5,030 higher secondary schools are functioning in Tamil Nadu, the resolution said several schools were functioning without toilets or drinking water facilities and many lacked adequate number of teachers. The resolution charged that the government had closed down more than 1,300 schools in the last few years citing various reasons, and was now searching sites to start 250 air-conditioned elite bars.
Another resolution urged the State government to provide better facilities for students staying in the hostels for backward classes.