Women in different villages of Surat district have taken up cudgels against liquor dens. These women, who are members of Sakhi Mandal, a self-help group for women, vandalise the distillery where country-made liquor is made and later handover the bootlegger to the police. Ironically, south Gujarat has a high rate of liquor consumption even though the state has enforced strict prohibition laws.

On Sunday, the Sakhi Mandal raided a liquor den in Kantifalia in Bardoli taluka and caught a bootlegger selling country-made liquor. The angry women later destroyed the bhatti set up by the owner in the backyard of his house, and handed him over to Bardoli police.

On Monday, over 70 Sakhi Mandal activists of Bhadol village in Olpad taluka of Surat went to the Mamlatdar’s office and handed over a memorandum demanding strict action against distilleries in their villages. The women then submitted a memorandum to Sub-Inspector H M Suthar of Olpad police and demanded police action on liquor sellers in their village. They also gave an ultimatum of five days to the officials and threatened to take out a rally and strike at liquor dens if action was not taken.

Liquor sellers in the district are now afraid of the Sakhi Mandal activists, who warn bootleggers to shut shop before striking them. Elaborating on the work by Sakhi Mandal in the Mahuwa taluka, one of its members, Meena Patel, said: “Two months ago, we began the initiative of destroying liquor dens in Surat district after we came across numerous complaints of drunken husbands assaulting their wives. Our motive is to make the Mahuwa and Bardoli talukas liquor free. We are ready to help the women if they approach us and we will bear our travel cost. In fact, we want all villages to be liquor free.”

The Mahuwa taluka Sakhi Mandal has covered 25 villages in the taluka. Now, it has started a drive in the neighbouring talukas. For the last three days, the women have been seen standing on the state highways to check vehicles transporting liquor.

“Earlier, we used to complain to the police; but we found that some policemen would inform the distillery owners in exchange of hafta (instalments). The bootleggers would then shut down business for a few days before restarting. We therefore decided to go to the distilleries and destroy them ourselves. We have also distributed our phone numbers to our relatives and friends in different villages. We get information on cell phone about liquor dens in different villages. The women working in our mandal are being supported well by their families,” added Meena Patel.