As alcoholism has become a scourge in the agency areas of former composite Adilabad district, the dormant anti belt shop - euphemism for an illegal liquor vend - movement of the Adivasi women could see a revival.
The raid conducted by aboriginal women and children on a belt shop in Devapur village of Indervelli mandal of Adilabad district on March 13 is a pointer unless the government gets cracking to curb the rampant unauthorised sale of liquor in almost every corner of the tribal land in Adilabad and Kumram Bheem (KB) Asifabad districts.
Call to action
“There are at least 40 belt shops in Kerameri mandal headquarter village alone,” alleged Kova Indira, leader of Adivasi Mahila Organisation which has spearheaded the anti belt shop movement in KB Asifabad district. “If authorities start closing down belt shops in Narnoor, Utnoor and Indervelli mandals, it will take them at least a month to sanitise the area,” was how a Raj Gond tribe elder in Adilabad district put it.
“Women become targets of violence unleashed by drunken men, we are unable to educate our children because of alcoholism which is on the rise because of easy availability of liquor,” Ms. Kova said of the prime reason for the increasing family discord in ethnic homes in the agency. “Only a few days ago one drunken resident of Sakda village and another from Surdapur got killed in road accidents,” she added, pointing to the catastrophical effect of untimely deaths on tribal families, thanks to alochol addiction.
Raid and destroy
The anti belt shop movement had started in Kerameri mandal in KB Asifabad district late November last year when aboriginal women started raiding illegal liquor vends and destroying the seized stocks. In order to control the situation from going out of hand the police had promised to shut down the illegal vends, but evidently nothing happened.
“We took the assurance of the police seriously then. But time seems to have come now to restart ‘action’,” the movement leader said while discussing the issue with women from her village, Modi. “We will soon convene a meeting of all women who were involved in the movement earlier to chart out a course of action,” she averred.
Ms. Kova was also sore over the lack of support to the movement from the men of ethnic tribes. In Adilabad district, however, the sarpanch of Devapur, Marsakolla Jaku, has promised support to the women’s efforts declaring a ₹ 5,000 fine on anyone selling liquor in the village.
