Women beat back liquor mafia

Alcoholics in this Chhattisgarh village have reason to fear dusk. That’s when village women, armed with lathis, wait for their men to r...

Alcoholics in this Chhattisgarh village have reason to fear dusk. That’s when village women, armed with lathis, wait for their men to return from work. And anyone with liquor gets a thrashing.

The alcoholics who escape the stick are denied entry into their homes. The next morning, they are made to vow to stop drinking. A large number of alcoholics have stopped drinking. Teenagers are also threatened with ‘‘punitive’’ action. Bootleggers don’t dare enter villages where the anti-liquor campaign has gained momentum.

Women enforcing ‘‘prohibition’’ are neither associated with NGOs nor are they political activists. Most of them are illiterate and have fought the liquor mafia without any administrative support. Yet village after village in Chhattisgarh’s five key districts — Raipur, Mahasamund, Durg, Rajnandgaon and Damtari — are hitting the headlines almost daily as women raiding parties destroy illicit liquor stalls.

Story continues below this ad

The movement began from village Ninva — barely 28 km from Raipur — when women opposed a new daru bhatti in July last. They raided the liquor den, damaged it and beat up its manager and the local sarpanch who allegedly supported the bootleggers. Nirmala Verma, a key figure in the Ninva episode, says: ‘‘Village men had already become a perpetual problem — beating up wives and selling assets.’’

NCW chairperson Poornima Advani visited Ninva on July 8 and promised to quote its success story in other states. Raipur district collector R.P. Mandal adds: ‘‘Ninva is the best example of women’s empowerment and awakening. It’s a big change sweeping Chhattisgarh.’’

The police are also allegedly supporting the liquor mafia.

Over 200 women also submitted a memorandum to CM Raman Singh seeking the closure of liquor vends in Abhanpur area.