The villagers of Binnadi who were tired of submitting repeated complaints to the excise department officials requesting to take action against illicit liquor that was rampant in the village, took it upon themselves to trace the illicit liquor racket in the village.
They succeeded in tracing the stored illicit liquor and destroyed it.
On Thursday Jayapal, a youth from the village went to Baluru Reserve Forest in search of his cattle that was missing.
To his astonishment, he found two pots and a can filled with illicit liquor buried in the ground.
The youth immediately informed the members of Ambedkar Yuvaka Sangha. The members of the Sangha and villagers formed a team to keep watch on the place where the liquor was buried. After waiting for a day, they destroyed it on Friday.
Illicit liquor production and sale is rampant in Binnadi, Atthigere, Tharuve, Devangal and neighbouring villages for the last ten months, where a majority of the residents belong to scheduled caste community.
Illicit liquor has been a cause of concern for several families in these villages, especially the women as men in their houses have become victims of the illicit liquor.
Two months ago, a youth died of consuming liquor, but the incident came to light after many days of the incident.
Soon, the youth of the village sprung into action and formed Ambedkar Yuvaka Sangha to check illicit liquor menace.
The Sangha members had submitted complaints to the excise department. Though the officials raided two villages, they returned empty handed.
The raid did not seem to bother those engaged in illicit liquor business, as the trade commenced within a week of the raid, said villagers. In fact, Sangha members had even filed a complaint with the Banakal police station.
A youth from Sangha told Deccan Herald that tracing of pots of liquor proves that illicit liquor is rampant in the region. The authorities should initiate action against the culprits.
DH News Service
