As Gujarat gears up for elections, The Quint travelled to Vaheval village in Surat district to talk to a group of women who have been fighting against the sale of illegal liquor.
Despite their campaign, these women – who are part of a sakhi mandal (group of companions) – say that illegal liquor sale is rampant in their villages, and is ruining their families.
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Meena Patel, one of the members, said that though their campaign was popular when it started in 2009, it had to shut down in a year because nobody supported them.
Giving an overview of the situation in the village, she said:
There’s a liquor shop just 10 houses away. You can find more than 25 liquor shops in this village.
She said the liquor trade was the complicity of the police as well as politicians. This issue, she said, arises only during the election season.
Instead of cracking down on this trade, the police takes bribes... What development will happen in this village? The candidates who stand up for elections provide the bottles themselves. A person can win election in this area only if he or she provides the bottles.Meena Patel
The politicians only care about the vote, she said.
Notably, alcohol prohibition has been in force in Gujarat ever since its inception in 1960, under the Bombay Prohibition Act 1949. A revamped Gujarat Prohibition (Amendment) Act came into effect in March 2017, prescribing for more stringent control on manufacture, sale, and consumption of liquor, and stipulating a jail term of up to 10 years.
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