Kudos to democracy!

By Research Desk
about 8 years ago

This is democracy and women power at its best!

In this small village of Kacchabalee in Rajasthan, women ran a referendum and got the liquor shops shut in the village! It all began on 26th Jan when Sita Devi put up a resolution before the sarpanch and other village leaders. She had asked for a ban on sale of alcohol in the village. Other women heard of this and joined in, all putting either their signature or thump impression on the resolution.

Some 1500 women put in their support and this they went to the district collector, asking him to shut down the liquor shops. The collector spoke to the excise department and they decided to seek a referendum.

After collecting more than 1,500 signatures, the women went to the district collector asking to ban the sale of alcohol. The collector took up the appeal with the excise department and then ordered a poll on it. On 5th April, a poll which was conducted by the district administration, asking voters to say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to the liquor shop. An overwhelming majority of 94% of the 2039 villagers who cast their votes said ‘No’. Under local excise laws, 51% of the votes are sufficient to ban liquor in an area.

It is hoped that other women in near-by villages will get inspired by this and boot out alcohol shops from their villages which is one of the prime reasons for untimely deaths and burgeoning debt.

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