Taboo on fags and alcohol?

The Kandy Municipal Council has requested the Government to declare the historic city of Kandy as a no smoking and non-alcohol zone in keeping with the Government’s policy on the issue.

The KMC had made the request from President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Mayor L.B. Aluvihara told The Kandy Times. This move has been initiated as the Government’s ‘mathata thita’ – full stop to alchohol – programme gathers momentum island-wide.Mayor Aluvihara said that since the introduction of the Alcohol and Tobacco Authority Bill which severely restricts public smoking, Kandy too had seen a drop in public smoking and alcohol consumption.During the recent Vesak season, Police said alcohol-related incidents had seen a sharp drop.

The Alcohol and Drugs Information Centre has already begun several programmes in the city to educate people on the harmful effects of smoking and alcohol consumption.

Assistance will be sought in this connection from the Railway Department, the Ports Authority and other Government institutions which have made areas under their purview non-smoking and non-alcohol zones.

There had been many requests from the public for the implementation of such programmes given the scared status that the city of Kandy holds for Buddhists because of the location of the Dalada Maligawa there.

Many visitors to the city complain that the presence of several liquor outlets does not befit this sacred city which is also a World Heritage site.