Liquor ban: Protesters vow to take campaign across state

Women, around 3,000 of them, vowed to take their struggle to the people across the state, as they dispersed, on Thursday, from Kudalasangama in Bagalkot district, the place associated with social reformer Basavanna. This, after a week of protests demanding
complete ban of liquor in the state.

On January 28, around 200 women stood waist-deep in the confluence of Krishna and Malaprabha rivers, reflecting their resolve to bring the struggle to a conclusive end.

‘We want water, not beer’ was the slogan of this protest called the Kudalasangama Satyagraha.

These resolute women are members of the Rajya Madya Nishedha Andolana, a women-led movement which has been organising anti-liquor protests for the last four years.

Gangamma from Bagalkot, who lost her husband to his liquor addiction, says, “I thought it was my fate when my husband turned an alcoholic. But how can I keep quiet when my teenager son has taken to liquor. Alcohol is ruining the lives of youngsters in our
villages.”

Mokshamma, one of the conveners of the Andolana, says despite persistent efforts for the past four years, the government has not responded positively to their demand.

Last year, over 2,000 women from across the state marched from Chitradurga to Bengaluru demanding complete liquor ban in Karnataka.

At the grassroots level, women and children bear the brunt of alcoholism every day in the form of physical abuse, emotional pressure, poor health and financial conditions. They are trying their best to keep this evil away. Perceiving the complexity of risks alcohol poses, men have also joined the movement.

In Navalkal of Raichur district, villagers have passed a resolution to ban the sale of liquor inside the village. Several other villages in the region are following suit.

Cracking down on illicit liquor, empowering Gram Sabhas to decide on granting licence to liquor shops and setting up de-addiction centres with required facilities are some immediate steps that the women are demanding.

Swarna Bhat, another convener, says, “Higher targets from liquor sale has led to its easy availability. Now, villagers get liquor in kirana shops and some houses too. This has increased the risk of youth turning to alcohol. Studies have shown that the social cost of liquor consumption far exceeds the revenue generated from its sale.”

A delegation comprising representatives of the movement, social activists and spiritual leaders are planning to meet the chief minister in February to discuss the issue.