Thiruvananthapuram:
A policy to achieve total prohibition and several environment friendly programmes were launched in Kerala on Thursday to mark the 146th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
"Today, world over Gandhiji is being remembered and in Kerala, we begin the first step to achieve the goal of achieving complete prohibition," said Chief Minister Oommen Chandy while inaugurating a "Gandhi Smrithi Yathra" in the state capital.
As the first step of the new liquor policy, 39 of the 383 state-owned liquor retail outlets would be closed from Thursday.
Another 10 per cent of the retail outlets would be closed on this day next year.
Mr Chandy has set Oct 2, 2023 for enforcing complete prohibition in the state.
Earlier in the day, Mr Chandy inaugurated a state-wide programme of collecting plastic bags and other plastic waste.
The state government had on Wednesday decided to ban the use of flex and plastics for making publicity material and those which used the material to depict Mr Chandy and his cabinet colleagues were removed from the roads.
At the Congress headquarters, Mr Chandy and party president V.M. Sudheeran planted 146 vegetable plants as part of inaugurating a programme to produce pesticide-free vegetables.
This programme would be extended to all schools and households.
Mr Chandy then visited a slum in the heart of the city and assured the residents that necessary actions would be taken to keep their colony clean.