Jamshedpur: When incessant pleas to the police and district administration to stop illicit liquor trade in the city fall on deaf ears, women take up the cudgels.
Around 50 women today ransacked four liquor outlets in these slums – three urban slums of Jamshedpur – Chandinagar, Chayanagar and Devnagar, all in Sitaramdera police station area – and destroyed about 400 litres of mahua (fermented raw material used for making countrymade liquor) and spirits, in the second such operation in one week.
The women’s zeal encouraged many local youths to come forward and help them close the shops.
The women began the drive around 10am and continued for nearly two hours till the local police pacified them by assuring stricter vigil in the area.
Jamshedpur city SP Prashant Anand also assured the women of his full cooperation but asked them not to take the law in their own hands, The Telegraph reported.
“A directive has been issued to all police stations to intensify raids against illegal liquor dens. We urge the women to inform us about such liquor dens instead of taking the law in their hands,” said city SP Anand.
One of the women, Puja Singh, said they had complained to the police and the district administration about the illegal liquor outlets several times but to no avail.
“Several goons gather here. Men of the family drinking regularly has also affected our family lives. Many have fallen ill after consuming liquor laced with poisonous chemicals. But, no action has been taken. Police only patrol areas and go away. This has forced us to take the initiative to shut liquor shops ourselves,” said Puja Singh, who stays in Devnagar near Baradwari.
Earlier, women had damaged three illicit distilleries and forcibly closed six illegal shops in Sitaramdera and Sakchi on July 10. Then too the police had requested them to refrain from such acts and promised to take action.
“We waited for six days but again no action was taken. The menace is increasing day by day. Today also police have stopped us by assuring us of intensifying vigil in these areas. We will wait for a few days and if the police and administration fail to keep their promise, we will start the drive again,” said Singh, who claims to have an affiliation with the Congress.
Singh added that they would take the drive to other urban slums as well by mobilising women, affected by the liquor menace.