Madras HC orders closure of illegal bars across TN
Chennai, Feb 13: The Madras High Court on Tuesday ordered the concerned authorities to immediately close all illegal bars across Tamil Nadu and file a report by February 20.
Expressing surprise over a submission made on behalf of the state government, which stated that 3,326 FIRs had been against illegal bars, the court directed the home, prohibition and excise department secretary to shut them all forthwith.
The division bench comprising Justice S Manikumar and Justice Subramonium Prasad passed the order after a petition from a Coimbatore resident, D Prabakaran, sought a direction against fraudulent acts in Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) with regard to issuing and collection of license fees from bars.
It was submitted before the bench that during April-December 2018 surprise checks were conducted by senior divisional manager and district managers of TASMAC and they found that 2,505 illegal bars were being run.
The head office squad detected 20 illegal bars and the deputy collectors and the flying squad detected 801 bars.
The petitioner alleged fraud in issuing purchase bills, rendering periodical accounts to the government, collection of license fees from the TASMAC bars, charging of excess rate, all of which cause loss to the exchequer.
He submitted that TASMAC allows illegal bars to run without maintaining hygiene and alleged that these bars do not display the price list of the eatables, which are sold at exorbitant rates. Besides, the bars don't have basic amenities like water and toilet facilities.
The petitioner said he moved court after his representations to authorities did not receive any response.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
