No liquor shop in 94 percent of Chhattisgarh villages: Raman Singh

Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], Apr. 8 (ANI): Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on Saturday claimed that there is not a single shop in 94 percent of villages of the state. Talking to reporters here after completing the second survey of Lok Swaraj Abhiyan, Raman said his government is taking strict action against illegal liquor vendors. He was asked a question about the politics being played by the liquor lobby of the state after the government decided to sell liquor in the state. Raman Singh on April 6 and 7 visited six districts to review the progress of the Lok Swaraj Abhiyan. He said the government will very shortly provide stainless steel tiffinbox to the regular MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act) workers. He said he enjoyed the ride on an auto driven by Geeta, one of the 22 women auto drivers in Ambikapur. The project was started by Raman Singh to empower women. "I along with chief secretary took a ride on Geeta's auto from Gandhi Chowk to Collector office just to tell her that she is a good driver and a chief minister and chief secretary feel safe in her auto," said Raman Singh, adding that she is a symbol of women empowerment in the state. He said women empowerment can't be done through sloganeering. "We have shown the example of it in Ambikapur where the women are not only collecting garbage from door to door they earn around Rs 15 lakh from the by-products of the collected garbage," said Raman Singh. (ANI)