Liquor ban can

be achieved only by people’s participation

Nagpur, 26 Oct

(HS): Adachiwadi Village in Purandar Tahsil in Pune District has received the

State Government’s Ideal Village of Rs 5 crore recently. The video showing the

efforts of the Adachiwadi Gram Panchayat in making the village self-reliant has

become viral on social media. The Gram Panchayat, with the cooperation of the

villagers have a police station, where no complaint was recorded for several

years. The Gram Panchayat has electronically operated transport system for

school children to all the visitors free of charge. Adachiwadi has a school

which is digital and the student gets all the facilities of learning using

internet. The village maintains cleanliness and has no garbage littered in public

places. The Gram Panchayat meeting hall is air-conditioned and its ambience can

match a meeting hall in a five start hotel. The facility of wet and dry garbage

to convert into a fertilizer for the villagers. Machine to supply clear

filtered water has been purchased by the Gram Panchayat. And QR Code provided

location map for the new comer to the villager of the person wishes to meet.

It is not a

dream. But the efforts of the villagers themselves to make their village ideal

for others to follow. Similar efforts were made in other parts of the country

including Maharashtra State. But the situation changed gradually with the death

of their motivator or due to political reasons.

Shanishingnapur is a place where houses are not required to lock their

houses as there are no thefts. This is out of the string belief that the person

turns blind if he steal anything in the village (Due to curse by the Shanidev).

There are

examples in Maharashtra, which had achieved the status of ideal villages in the

past. But gradually lost this status due to various reasons. The voluntary

social workers worked on some aspects affecting the society like alcoholism,

domestic violence, labourer, health, education etc. Some other villages still maintain the

status, but not like Adachiwadi which worked on holistic approach.

KHAPA: Late

Prabhakar Wadibhasme, a freelance journalist working for a few Marathi

newspapers and a farmer, successfully enforced ‘No alcohol’ in about 100

villages in Tumsar tehsil of Bhandara district in Maharashtra. Prabhakar

Wadibhasme worker with women in the village first in Khapa and spread his work

in other villages. The Gram Panchayat resolved to remove liquor shops and bars

from the villages, using the 73rd and 74th amendments to

the Constitution

The women in the

village and some men worked for removal of liquor joints. They boldly faced the

wrath of the joint owners and operators. Illegal distilleries were also removed

by these women activist, which included some freedom fighters. A loud speaker

was installed at a temple in the village. The name of the person who had

consumed alcohol used ti be announced from the temple. Even the women used to

inform names of their family members including husband and sons. The system

worked for several years. Alcohol consumers used to face monetary fine or

forced to perform some constructive work in the village.

A political

leader, development of a technical course college and hostel acted destroyed

the mission. The women activists were harassed and tortured. Liquor shops and

bars started operating. Wadibhasme then concentrated on generating awareness

about ill-effects of consuming alcohol. May of the dedicated activist and

Prabhakar Wadibhasme died and the mission took a back seat.

GADCHIROLI: Gadchiroli district was declared Dry

District, even when most of the tribals consume Mahua liquor as a part of their

culture. Adjoining Chandrapur was also declared Dry District, but te liquor ban

was soon withdrawn mainly due to a large number of national and international

tourists visiting Chandrapur for Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Project. Chandrapur also has

a large number of industries and mines.

Social worker Dr

Abhay Bang, Late Mohan Hirabai Hiralal, Dr Prakash Amte and several others

supported liquor ban in Gadchiroli. A demand for review the impact is being

raised for several years as a large number of persons including school children

are involved in smuggling liquor from adjoining villages in Chandrapur

district. Many illegal dens are also being operated in the district. The Committee

formed to enforce liquor ban appears to have failed, even after spending huge

money by the Government.

Gadchiroli is

also developing as a steel hub of India. Mining activities have also increased.

Lifting ban on liquor is also being raised. Gadchiroli, rich in forest and

mineral wealth is also popular among the tourists. The district is gaining

popularity among the tourists as Naxalite menace has been removed by the

consistent efforts of the governments at the Centre and the State. The purpose

with which the liquor ban was imposed has not been successful. Its

side-effects, however, are dangerous.

A prominent IAS

officer who was posted in Nagpur was against such bans, but not against the

restrictions attached to availability or consumption of liquor. The menace

created by alcoholics or a resultant anti-social activities must be dealt with

seriously, he had opined.

MELGHAT: Similar

is the situation in the tribal-dominated Melghat region in Amravati district.

Melghat is the first protected Tiger Project in Maharashtra. A large number of

NGOs are working In Melghat, which came to light as a malnourishment deaths

area. Social workers like PadmaShri awardee couple Dr Smita and Dr Ravindra

Kolhe, Anupama and late Sunil Deshpande have been active with their base in Melghat’s

Berahgad and Lawada villages. While Kolhes are providing health services and

Deshpande developed Sampurna Bamboo Kendra for economic development of the

tribals and also to demonstrate skills of the tribals. Dr Ashish Satav and his wife Dr Kavita Satav

has established a hospital through MAHAN Trust in Chikhaldara in Amravati

District, and have been providing health services to the tribals.

Shodh is another prominent NGO in Melghat region, which has shifted its head

office in Paratwada.

Despite several

efforts by the social workers, liquor ban was not effective like Khapa for some

time.

WARDHA: The ban

in Wardha district, where Mahatma Gandhi stayed for years is facing problem,

due to illegal liquor trade. Acharya

Vinoba Bhave had started reformation from Surgaon adjacent to Paonal where

Vinoba stayed.

Various socially

beneficial activities were effectively implemented with the cooperation of the

villagers led by a noble Wankhede family. A school without the government

support was developed. Cleanliness drive started by Vinoba Bhave was followed

by villagers for several years. Liquor ban was followed until a technical

college came into being near the village. A sugar mills was also being operated

by a cooperative society. The condition of the villagers was that none of the

villager will join politics. Anyone who enters political field will be divested

from all the positions held in cooperative society or Gram Panchayat etc.

Wankhede owned a flour mill. Any villager who could not get work on any

particular day was given wheat or other flours free of cost from the flour

mills.

The noble causes

and work were relegated to the back seat gradually with increasing greed,

seeking selfish gains, growing political interests and many other luring opportunities.

Though the

government framed several social schemes for removal of many social ills, they

remained confined to papers and files.

Social work

experts are of the opinion that the desired goal can be achieved not by force

or by amending legislation. It can be achieved through people’s participation

in unison.

………………..

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Hindusthan Samachar / Ajay Vasant Mardikar