Collector In Tamil Nadu Shuts Liquor Shop Near School After Two Kids File Complaint

In Tamil Nadu's Ariyalur district, two school students wrote a letter to the district collector, which has resulted in the shutting down of a liquor shop near their school. Now, both of them have appealed to Chief Minister MK Stalin for shutting down all liquor shops in the state.

The duo E M Ilanthendral and Arivarasan, who are siblings and studying in Classes 6 and Class 4, respectively, in their letter stated nuisance and child safety as the reason for requesting the collector to get the shop removed from the area as physical classes are scheduled to reopen for the primary section in November.

'It Is So Scary For Us'

"They drink there, sit there and use vulgar language. It is so scary for us. Because of liquor, many parents send children to work and let them beg. If we shut all liquor shops, there would be no such problem," Ilanthendral told NDTV.

In 2015, the Madras High Court passed the order that no liquor shop should be present within 100 metres of a school. But, this has often been violated.

Even though this liquor shop is outside the 100-metre distance, the collector ordered to get it relocated following the children's appeal. Apart from this, the request has also brought the intervention of the Chief Secretary, who directed to shift it from the area.

"Though the shop is 100 metres away from the school, we passed the order to shut the shop and shift it to an alternate location since the children have represented the school," said P Ramana Saraswathi, Ariyalur Collector.

The children, whose parents run a book shop, have been praised across Tamil Nadu for their effort.

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