The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Conscientious villagers shun liquor

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Tuesday, Jun 08, 2010
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Conscientious villagers shun liquor

S. Harpal Singh

Bhajans held in Guda village to wean them away from the vice

50 villages boast of self-imposed prohibition in four mandals of the district
About 300 cases of IDL from Maharashtra is sold every day in some villages

— PHOTO: S. HARPAL Singh

Firm resolve: Villagers getting ready for a ‘bhajan' session in Guda village of Bela mandal in Adilabad district.

ADILABAD: There is a feeble yet perceptible opposition from people in Adilabad to the ever increasing problem of alcoholism even as the tender process for liquor shop rentals comes to an end. While some villages in Bela and Jainad mandals have taken recourse to the spiritual way to impose localised prohibition, people in Talamadugu have put forth the demand of closing the lone liquor vend in the coming excise year.

“Many able bodied youth in our villages have been debilitated by the hooch,” observes Murlidhar Thakre of Guda village in Bela mandal, giving the reason for banning liquor in his village. Guda has been the pioneer in imposing prohibition by inculcating spirituality among its residents.

Baji Rao Maharaj, a spiritual leader from Maharashtra, has shown the villagers an effective way to shun social evils.

His sermons during the non-stop bhajan singing programmes organised in habitations are well attended.

About 50 villages now boast of self-imposed prohibition in the four mandals surrounding Adilabad town. However, many other villages in these mandals are still plagued by the ‘hooch' factor mentioned by Murlidhar Thakre.

“About 300 cases (48 nips) of illicitly distilled liquor (IDL) or hooch from Maharashtra are estimated to be sold every day in villages of Talamadugu, Tamsi, Jainad and Bela mandals. Besides causing health problems to the consumers, the illegal sale results in the government losing revenue by over Rs. 3.5 lakh per day,” a conscientious villager in Bandalnagapur of Tamsi mandal says pointing out some of the aspects involved in this business.

Bandalnagapur, Kapparla, Nipani and Pippalkuti villages in Tamsi, Devapur, Barampur and Kajjerla in Talamadugu, Anandpur, Kura and Sangdi in Jainad are villages that are known as dumps for the illicit liquor from Maharashtra. Kanki and Mandvi in Kinwat taluka and Pippalkuti in Pandhrakawda are the prime centres of hooch supply, according to the villager.

Campaign

Adilabad Deputy Superintendent of Police A.R. Damodhar has started a campaign against the sale of IDL by raiding and seizing smuggled liquor from some of these villages. A vigil along the highly porous borders will also go a long way in curbing import of hooch.

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