Madya Niyantrana Udyama Committee’ has requested the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Chief Ministers KCR and N Chandrababu Naidu, respectively, to evolve a new Excise policy with a political determination of not considering liquor sales as a means of Revenue to the Government.
Addressing the media at NSS here Monday, committee convenor V Lakshmana Reddy and leaders of Jana Chaitanya Vedik, Lok Satta, APSA and Mahila Samakhya K Geethamurthy, S Srinivasa Reddy and P Prem Pavani, wanted the two State Governments to follow Delhi and Tamil Nadu pattern and organize the liquor shops themselves in a limited manner; allocate one per cent of Excise Revenue for campaign on the ill-effects of liquor consumption on a large scale; start de-addiction centres in all the Government Hospitals at District headquarters and provide treatment to the habitual drinkers free of cost; remove liquor shops near schools, temples, residential colonies and on the national and state highways; and formulate a policy to do away with all the belt shops.
Among other things, they also requested the two Governments to set up toll-free numbers in every district to complain about irregularities in liquor sales; start committees from village level to state level to campaign against liquor consumption; impose total ban on consumption of liquor in public places; include lessons on the ill-effect of liquor consumption in school curricula; involve dwacra and Anganwadi women in liquor consumption restrictions; and make the Village Revenue officials and excise staff responsible for offences relating to belt shops, spurious liquor.
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