20,000 women will stage a morcha to demand that Vidarbha be declared dry, after suffering due to alcohol- related deaths

More than 20,000 women from Vidharba district of Maharashtra, infamous for its farmer suicides, are expected to march today to a small village in Yavatmal, to demand that the district be declared dry.

Activists claim alcohol has led to several deaths that often go unreported, and liquor shops have mushroomed everywhere. With neighbouring Gadchiroli already being declared a dry district, Vidarbha has seen a rise in the sale of alcohol.


Residents claim that children as young as 15 are getting
addicted. REPRESENTATION PIC

"In the last decade, consumption of liquor has grown from nearly 2.4 lakh litres to 2.4 crore litres. And the 3,000 odd liquor shops have multiplied to some 30,000," said Kishore Tiwari of the Vidharba Jan Andolan Samiti.u00a0

"With Gadchiroli being dry, smuggling and production of illicit liquor in neighbouring areas is rampant. In a small village with a population of not more than 50, there are no less than five liquor shops.

Our information reveals that kids as young as 15 are gradually growing addicted," said advocate Paromita Goswami, who heads Shramik Yalgar.

Activists say the women are the worst affected, and easy prey to domestic violence, a common result of alcohol consumption.