By Sandeep Pouranik
Bhopal, Feb 24 (IANS): In the middle of the debate these days in Madhya Pradesh about drug de-addiction and liquor ban, Brahminpura village in Guna district stands out as an example of how the villagers have succeeded in making prohibition a success.
In Brahminpura village, women raised their voice for prohibition. As a result of this, alcohol is not consumed or served during wedding ceremonies or any other social events in the village. A person who comes to the village after drinking liquor is fined Rs 500 to Rs 1,000.
The prohibition campaign was started by a woman identified as Krishna Bai along with other women residing in the village. Krishna Bai said a meeting was held 12 years ago against substance abuse in which it was decided that if any individual comes to the village after drinking alcohol, then a fine between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 would be imposed on them. She says that if a person worships at home in the morning and evening and spends time with his/her children, then he would never ever resort to consuming alcohol.
Despite launching this campaign, many a times the wedding guests came to the village after consuming liquor so hefty fines were imposed on them.
Komal Sharma, a resident of Brahminpura village, says that even after requesting wedding guests several times not to consume liquor, they were then fined on being found intoxicated. Such people were also not allowed to participate in the marriage rituals of the bride and the groom. Now, whenever a wedding procession arrives in the village, no one is found consuming liquor.
The people of the village have also formed a team which keeps a close watch on the wedding guests. So far, more than Rs 15,000 have been recovered from those found consuming alcohol and this money has been spent on worship in the temples, conducting 'yagnas' and 'havans'.
Superintendent of Police, Rajiv Kumar Mishra, said Brahminpura is a village which comes under the Netakhedi panchayat, where there is complete prohibition and a fine is imposed on those found consuming alcohol. This has set an example and other people should learn from this village.
For the last few days in Madhya Pradesh, the political atmosphere has changed drastically due to drug de-addiction and prohibition campaigns. Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti has also announced to start a liquor ban campaign on March 8 on the occasion of Women's Day. Senior Congress leader and State unit President Kamal Nath has also advocated liquor prohibition. At the same time, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is emphasizing on launching a public awareness campaign for imposing prohibition.