Author: Aiswarya Ananthapadmanabhan
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: August 6, 2007
URL: http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=249307
Introduction: Police action sporadic, say
Samarth Mahila Manch activists; den continues to function at Mahadevnagar
August 4 At Mahadevnagar slum on Sinhagad
Road near Hingane, the threat this monsoon is not from the floods but illicit
liquor that is sold at a den which functions openly, while the police look
the other way. The fall-out is along expected lines - drunkards who beat their
wives for hooch money, teenagers coming home intoxicated and young children
exposed to a life of what excess alcohol can do to break up households.
Samarth Mahila Manch, a group of 30-40 slum
women, originally formed to address community issues, is now trying to deal
with the liquor menace. "Whenever a husband is found abusing his wife,
we barge into their house and try to stop the violence," said Swati Shinde
of the Manch.
According to the Manch activists, the space
between two canals that run across the Mahadevnagar, Samarth Nagar and Ganesh
Colony areas is used for stocking and selling liquor that is brought there
from Nare Road in plastic drums. "This liquor, that is illicitly brewed,
is hazardous and widely consumed owing to the low price," said Amina
Nadaf, an outreach worker from the Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR).
"This den is essentially a bench under
a tree surrounded by cans of liquor and groups of men sprawled in the shade,
consuming booze at all times of the day," Nadaf said. She added that
women and girls feel unsafe to pass by the den even during daytime.
The women's greatest worry is the effect the
drinking has on their children. "Teenagers as young as 13 steal money
from their parents' purses and try out the illicit brew. In an intoxicated
state, they often assault their family members and the neighbours have to
interfere," said Vimal Chorghe, a resident.
It's not just liquor. "A 75-year-old
man sells drugs. Every evening his hut is filled with youths from the slum
and also students from the nearby Sinhagad College," she added.
Over 150 women signed a letter submitted to
Superintendent of Police (Rural) Vishwas Nangre-Patil, pleading action against
the liquor den and the drug peddler. Neither has any results been forthcoming
following repeated requests to PSI S L Pandhare of the Abhiruchi police chowki.
"We requested the police to raid the
place. But they come at their own pace. We see a pattern here: Our phone calls
to the chowki is followed by the den owners immediately shutting down operations,
followed by the police arrival," said Shinde.
Thereafter it takes about three days for the
den to reopen. "Now the owners have started recognising the women from
the Manch, so we are worried about their safety," said Nadaf.
The Abhiruchi police chowki officers admit
that liquor dens do spring up after police raids. " A fortnight ago,
PSI Pandhare and his team raided liquor shops on Nare Road and seized many
cans of liquor. But they find ways to revive it despite police action,"
said an officer at the police chowki.
