Drive to kick the bottle: Religious leaders step in

Religious leaders in the state, after a two-day roundtable conference on prohibition, have decided to step up efforts to make their devotees stay away from alcohol. Sachidananda Hegde, chairman of Karnataka State Temperance Board, said: “Religious leaders have concluded that creating awareness on the issue will bear more fruit than completely banning alcohol. In this regard, they have decided to go directly to the masses and work at the grassroots level to curb alcohol abuse.”

In a resolution passed during the course of the two-day conference, the religious leaders who took part in the meet will reach out to over 1,000 other religious leaders to spread the message.

“Religious leaders wield a certain influence over the masses and devotees listen, when no amount of persuasion, from politicians or bureaucrats, yield results. They have decided to use this and get involved in a bigger way in the movement against alcohol abuse,” the chairman said.

An important step in this regard is the decision by religious heads to conduct such conferences in six other districts such as Belgaum, Mandya, Chamrajnagar, Shimoga, Uttara Kannada and Chickmanglur.