Kerala church step up campaign against liquor

With Christmas and New Year just round the corner, the Catholic Church in Kerala has stepped up its campaign against liquor and is calling on the government to withdraw from the trade.

The Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) which met in Kochi this week approved a 27-point guideline of its Temperance Commission to establish a drug and liquor-free society in the state.

"A government responsible to its people should withdraw from the liquor trade which has been found to damage the physical and mental health of the citizens besides ruining them socially, economically and spiritually," said Fr Stephen Alathara, deputy secretary general of KCBC.

KCBC, according to a Deccan Herald report, dismissed the government proposal to entrust local bodies with the decision on new liquor shops in the state. The decision, it said was "ineffective to reduce the availability of liquor".

An apex body of the Catholics in Kerala, KCBC has intensified its efforts against consumption of alcohol.

The Temperance Commission, which has been campaigning against drinking for 14 years, has reportedly drawn up a series of guidelines for church institutions to follow.

Some of them include: considering alcohol consumption a sin, ban on employing people who drink in institutions run by the church, ban on drinking at celebrations such as wedding, among others.

The church would also go on an aggressive awareness campaign. All church institutions would sport hoardings against drinking and drug use, said Fr TJ Antony, secretary of the Temperance Commission, KCBC.

Kerala accounts for the country's highest consumption of alcohol. More than 40% of Kerala's revenues for its annual budget come from booze.

Kerala State Beverages Corporation (BevCo) recorded a turnover of Rs 7,860.12 crore in fiscal 2011-12 which showed a 17 percent leap from Rs 6,730 crore in 2010-11.