VELLORE: A board put up by the Masigam village panchayat near Pernambut town claiming that arrack has been completely removed from the civic body limits has perplexed residents and onlookers.
Masigam is allegedly known for free sale of arrack and locals wondered the reason for civic chief to suddenly come up with such a declaration. Photograph of the board, which had gone viral, showed Pernambut PU ward member Dilliraja, Masigam panchayat president R Thiagarajan, and vice president Malathi flanking it. Some of the villagers said, the village and its surrounding hills are ideal spots for arrack distillers, who resort to various novel means to sell the stuff to consumers. “The 5,000-odd population knows and vocally supports the arrack sale and, hence, it was surprising that the panchayat president chose to go the other way.”
A local official said, “Thiagarajan is a supporter of the ruling the DMK and hence it may be a PR exercise to help build his party’s image, which has been dented by various other acts, ahead of the LS polls.”
Panchayat president Thiagarajan told DT Next, “We received complaints about tipplers creating a nuisance and petitions were even submitted in two gram sabha meetings. Gudiyattam DSP Ramamoorthy also advised me to initiate action to curb this menace, which became so serious that private and TNSTC buses skipped the halt points in our locality.”
He furhter said, “So well-known was Masigam as a spot where arrack was easily available.