A liquor shop in Randanpola, in Welimada Pradeshiya Sabha is located too close to a school in the area. According to the people in the community this is a hindrance and a great disturbance to the students’ educational activities and wellbeing.
It is said that school students, especially girls face many problems as they are constantly threatened with the fear of abuse and other physical and verbal harassment because this particular liquor shop is located in close proximity to the primary school and the temple of the area.
A rising rate of alcoholism in the male members of the households in the area has affected many families. Not only has this torn families apart, it has also caused a rise in the number of youth in the area to get addicted to drugs and alcohol. A considerable amount of workers’ wages are spent on alcohol which also has adverse effects on their social lives.
Although many complaints have been made to the Divisional Secretariat Office on this issue, no action has been taken on this issue so far.
A youth who attended a workshop on Right to Information conducted by SLPI funded by USAID-SDGAP filed an RTI application and sought answers for the following questions. This was filed in November 2018.
- What should be the distance between school and liquor shop?
- For how long has this liquor shop been located in the area?
- How can you justify locating a liquor shop near the school and the temple?
As applicant stated that the answers that were provided by the Divisional Secretariat were not satisfactory. The residents’ request is either to close the liquor shop or relocate it.
In the meantime, due to the failure of the Divisional Secretariat Office to act on this issue, alternative actions such as educating students on negative effects of alcohol could be done by youth organizations with the support of religious leaders.
The youth state that earlier in time if a request of this kind is made to the authorities they would turn a blind eye. But with the RTI law they can now questions the authorities without restriction as the authorities are bound by the Act to respond to the requests made.
This update was prepared by participants of the Information and Communication Training Workshop conducted by the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) through a grant funded by the United States Agency for International Development through the Strengthening Democratic Governance and Accountability Project Activity.
“The contents of this post are the sole responsibility of SLPI and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.”
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