Boozers Assn to contest from Ambattur

It is the Tamil Nadu Boozers Awareness and Welfare Association, which is also planning to field a candidate in Ambattur constituency to fight for their rights. However, the association is not opposed to the idea of prohibition in the State. 

Opening rehabilitation centres alone would not suffice as the family members of tipplers have also been affected. So, we expect some kind of help from the next ruling party like counselling for the kin and monetary assistance to revive the family’s economic condition, according to association members. 

The association, which had been backing the DMK, on April 13 withdrew its support, after the party promised to clamp prohibition in its manifesto. “It is a bid to gain political mileage,” the association claims. 

Pointing out that the manifesto of the ruling AIADMK has announced prohibition in a phased manner along with the setting up of rehabilitation centres, the association said that will be only for tipplers. They had not taken into account the sufferings of the kin.

Speaking to DT Next, P Sellapandian, state president of the association, said that political parties have now taken up prohibition as a mere tool to win the election. “Around 45 per cent of the State population consume alcohol and 38 per cent families have been affected due to this,” he said and drove home his point by citing a survey which showed that Tamil Nadu ranked second in young widows due to alcoholism next only to Uttar Pradesh. 

“To press our demands, we have decided to field a candidate from Ambattur segment. MS Arumugam, hailing from Ambattur, will file nomination on April 22,” said Sellapandian. 

In fact, the association had already contested in three by-elections at Pudukkottai, Srirangam and RK Nagar. “But, we lost all of them. Even in past elections we sought help for families affected due to alcohol. We want the parties to do a survey across the state and announce some effective measures to revive the affected families,” said MS Arumugam, the proposed candidate of the association.

Charging that none of the representatives elected in the previous term spoke about the affected families, he said, “All parties were blindly talking about prohibition and failed to look at affected families.” “While parties got to think about the plight of TASMAC staff, who will be rendered jobless in the event of prohibition, they conveniently side-stepped the pain of the tipplers’ families,” was his parting shot.