Kerala civic body builds Christmas tree from beer bottles, Congress objects

The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) has protested against a Christmas tree made from empty beer bottles by the Guruvayur Municipality in Kerala’s Thrissur district.

The municipality installed the Christmas tree at the AKG Memorial Gate near the Guruvayur East Gate. The issue came up during the first council meeting of the Guruvayur Municipality held on Tuesday, where a Congress councillor objected to the installation. Other party leaders later joined the protest, calling the use of liquor bottles for a Christmas symbol inappropriate.

The Guruvayur Municipality is ruled by the Left Democratic Front (LDF).

Following the council meeting, opposition councillors met the municipal secretary in person and staged a protest. Responding to the objections, municipal secretary H Abhilash said the intent behind the installation was to promote creative reuse of recyclable materials and ensure that no additional waste was generated.

However, the United Democratic Front maintained that a Christmas tree made from liquor bottles conveys the wrong message and should be removed immediately.

“It was devotees visiting the Guruvayur temple who brought to our notice that a Christmas tree has been made using beer bottles. A Christmas tree is associated with a festival like Christmas, and the concept itself is about spreading light to the world. Spreading that light through liquor bottles does not send a good message,” the protesters said.

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