Irked by the alleged indifference of gram panchayat members to declare Daru Bandi’ (no alcohol in village), the women of Aarai village in Baglan taluka of Nashik district on Tuesday morning marched to the gram panchayat office and locked its members for six hours.
They were released only after they gave in writing that they would meet on August 6 and take a decision on the demand made by the women villagers.
Women are perturbed as the teenagers of the village are getting addicted to alcohol.
Aarai village, comprising about 250 families, has been plagued by the problem of alcoholism.
There is rampant sale and consumption of liquor in the village. Almost all males in the village are addicted to drinking. They hardly work but cause lot of problem in the house and localities after they get drunk. We are losing our hard earned money and peace”, said Manisha Aher.
The women on numerous occasions have taken delegations to the gram panchayat and urged them to tackle the problem of liquor business and declare the village alcohol-free by a resolution in the gram sabha.
“Our pleas and written petitions have fallen on deaf ears”, stated Aher.
On Gatari Amavasya on Saturday (the day before the Shravan month begins, supposedly the last day to consume alcohol before Shravan month) some teenagers of the village consumed liquor and misbehaved with the villagers, abusing and picking up fights in the village.
This apparently infuriated the women villagers and on Tuesday about 100 women marched to the gram panchayat office to discuss the issue. As the panchayat members failed to give them any positive response, they locked the male members of the gram panchayat in a room. They were released after the police arrived on the scene.
“The liquor business both country and foreign has become a nuisance. The tribals make country liquor and sell openly near the village. The foreign liquor is available in nearby hotels and even in some stores. We had no option but to take this extreme step,” stated Aher.
