Karnataka govt to curb alcoholism

Kolar: The starkness of Hema's one-room house in Kolar Gold fields tells a story of neglect and despair. This 26-year-old, like many other women in the area, lost everything to arrack, a strong alcoholic drink.

Hema's husband, a daily wage labourer is addicted to the country liquor and has sold almost every belonging of theirs for it.

"My husband is a coolie and he earns Rs 600 per week. He gives me only Rs 200 and spends the rest on arrack. Once he finishes his money, he asks me for more. I work as a domestic help," says Hema, a resident of Kolar.

"My husband comes home drunk and fights with us because of which we sometimes go hungry. Because of the drinking problem, a lot of young men have died here," she adds.

United in their grief and desperate to end this menace, the women of the area get together often—to share their problems, to cry on each other's shoulders and sometimes, to shut down all liquor shops.

This area alone has seen 45 deaths since 2003 due to arrack consumption and the others affected are no better.

"My dad has stolen everything from the house—blankets, anklets, clothes, vessels and sold them for arrack. He also gambles and comes home drunk and beats us up. What's the use of having a father like that? He's better in jail," says Praveen Kumar, a resident.

So acute is this crisis that the state government has proposed a ban on arrack, which is likely to be introduced in the state budget on the March 16.

"In another two days, the finance minister will announce the budget and at that time, the government will announce its decision on the arrack ban," says Chief Minister of Karnataka, H D Kumaraswamy.

However, that is easier said than done. The powerful arrack merchants' lobby is persuading the state government to rethink their plans. They say the state government just can't afford to ignore the huge revenues generated from arrack .

The state government earns more than Rs 3,000 crore annually as revenue from the sale of arrack. But for thousands of women across the state it is this very arrack that has made their lives miserable.

So, will this government be bold enough to hear the pleas of their women electorate this time around? We'll have to wait till the March 16 for that.

(With Shweta Ganesh Kumar)

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