BICHOLIM
Spurred by the sustained campaign of locals to successfully get authorities to shut down liquor stores in Surla-Sattari, social organizations from Mayem have now appealed to the local panchayat and excise department to follow suit and not give NOCs to liquor stores in the village of Mayem.
They have threatened to launch an agitation if attempts are made to issue NOCs to the liquor stores to operate in Mayem village.
Addressing a news conference at Bicholim, representatives of Mayem Bhuvimochan Nagarik Kruti Samiti (MBNKS), Bharat Swabhimaan, Kissan Vikas Parishad, Mayem Paanlot Sanghatana and other associations have also appealed to villagers to refrain from selling liquor as it leads to addictions and also destroys families. “There are presently 60 bars in Mayem and 19 of them are illegal. We do not want authorities to issue NOCs to bars and liquor stores,” said Sakharam Pednekar of Mayem Paanlot Sanghatana.
Pednekar has demanded a probe into the permission issued by the panchayat and excise department, despite a resolution passed in the Mayem gram sabha way back in 2000.
Kamlakant Tari of Bharat Swabhimaan regretted that youth have been lured by vested interests to indulge in the liquor trade, despite being aware that alcohol consumption leads to addiction and ends up destroying families.
“We don’t want people to start liquors bars in Mayem. If they are given NOCs to operate, we will launch an indefinite agitation,” warned Tari, adding that alcoholism had claimed several lives in the village.
MBNKS leader Kashinath Mayekar suspected that excise officials were trying to entice youth in Mayem to the pursue liquor trade on the pretext that it was a lucrative business.
