Narmadapuram Women protest against illegal liquor and gambling, threaten Bhopal March

Narmadapuram: The excise department has stepped up checking drives in Madhya Pradesh state following the deaths of people, all allegedly associated with the poisoning incident in Sagar district. During the campaign, there has been an allegation of unchecked illegal liquor and gambling activities in Guradiya Jat village, in Narmadapuram district.

Dozens of tribal ladies from the village were in the pickup car for the collector’s public hearing to demand intervention from the administration to address their concerns. Open sale of alcohol and sale of liquor without any legal permit and playing of Scrabble maintains a major concern among the women.

Villager Ritesh Rathore alleged that illegal liquor is being sold in between the middle and high schools in their village. People like Rani Bai Jat, Sukhram Patil and Suresh Thakur allege to be involved in the alleged illegal business.

The villagers said they had gone to complain at the Shivpur police station but received no reply from it. It’s alleged that in the course of attending police station, an ASI told them that they would not go to any lengths to stop liquor sales.

Vimla Dhurve and the women during the public hearing spoke about how alcohol and gambling is affecting families. They say that teens from 14 to 18 are getting more hooked on alcohol and jeopardizing their future.

The women also said that some husbands have the habit of seizing the money they earn performing daily wage work without permission and beat if they refuse to buy alcohol for their husbands. They reported that women and girls are struggling to freely move around the village due to abnormally intense activities such as drunkenness, abuse, and disturbances in the streets.

The women who are protesting against the rum deal, said if the issues were not addressed they would proceed to the residence of the Chief Minister, Bhopal and staged a protest there.