Residents of Kambur demand closure of liquor shops

Villagers in Kambur demand inclusion of all agricultural work under NREGS, closure of Tasmac liquor shops, and timely wages.

At the gram sabha meeting held at Kambur panchayat in Madurai district on Thursday, the villagers passed a resolution to effectively include all agricultural work under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. The demand for closure of all Tasmac liquor shops dominated the meeting.

The residents said that as of now only a limited number of agricultural work were being included under the scheme. The farmers have been complaining about the need for an adequate number of farm hands for the agricultural work.

If all the agricultural work was effectively included under the scheme, it would be a win-win situation for both the farmers and the workers. More work being included will benefit the workers and the farmers will also get the required farm hands for carrying out the agricultural work, said K. Selvaraj, a resident of Kambur.

The residents said that the Centre and the State government should ensure that the wages were properly paid to the workers on time under the scheme. Various irregularities with regard to the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission - ensuring drinking water to all households - were pointed out at the gram sabha meeting. The people were being taxed unnecessarily, they said.

The residents also demanded the closure of all Tasmac liquor shops. The youth were getting addicted to liquor and it had affected the youth and their family. In order to protect the health of the youth, all the Tasmac liquor shops should be closed, they said. They also demanded appropriate action be taken against those who were selling illicit liquor.

Some of the other issues that were raised at the meeting included the need to resolve drinking water issues, closure of unused wells and removal of encroachments.

Over 200 people and officials from various departments participated in the gram sabha meeting.