Enforcing prohibition is a spirited affair in Kantali. While the rest of the state relies on bootleg liquor to quench its thirst, residents of this sleepy village on the periphery of Bardoli have kept the no-alcohol promise their forefathers made 30 years ago.The no-liquor pact in Kantali, which has a population of around 1,300, goes back three decades. Then it was famous for mahuda no daru (a type of country liquor made from Mahuda flowers). And its population which comprised farm labourers and bhagyas were in the habit of frequenting liquor dens in the village to consume mahuda no daru.The sarpanch and panchs used to get regular complaints of wife-beating and, in some cases, drunk husbands even tried to set their women ablaze. On a winter night in 1970, late Chhanabhai Halpati, a farm labourer, quarrelled with the owner of a liquor den over payment. Halpati was beaten up by the owner and this angered the villagers. The issue was brought to the gram sabha’s notice and it was decided that no liquor dens will operate in the village. Liquor dens of those who refused to shut down were torched, and drunk villagers, who opposed the move, were told they will be banished.The sarpanch and panchs framed their own prohibition laws. Then sarpanch Naginbhai Mehndiwala asked each villager to sign a stamp paper stating: ‘We and our children will not consume liquor. We and our children will not bring or sell liquor. If we are caught, the gram sabha has all powers to punish us’’.Three decades on, villagers stick to these rules. Even today, whoever is caught in an inebriated state is made to pay anything between Rs 100 and Rs 200.The pride of being sarpanch of a liquor-free village is evident on the face of Laxmiben Halpati (Rathod). Says she, ‘‘Ours is an ideal village. Thanks to the laws constituted by our forefathers, we are a liquor-free village today.’’ She adds, ‘‘Our village has set an example for the last three decades, but the government has done little for its upliftment.’’Chhotubhai Patel (55), a farm labourer, said, ‘‘Earlier, I used to consume liquor after working in the field. It has been nearly three decades since I saw liquor. Since my father was the one who signed on the stamp paper it is applicable to me and my children.’’Congress MLA from Bardoli taluka Anil Patel says, ‘‘I am proud I was born in Kantali village. The village has maintained its no-liquor status in spite of attempts by liquor den owners from other villages to supply liquor here.’’Police Inspector of Bardoli police station G.K. Desai said, ‘‘I have been here for the last two years and there has been no liquor seizure for many years now.’’
