TIRUPATI: A spiritually inclined alcohol de-addiction centre in the remote village of MD Puttur in Yerpedu mandal of Chittoor district is making waves. It is a small village temple practising ‘Pledge & Pooja’ for the alcohol addicts to give up liquor consumption. In Chittoor district, there is a practice of pledge in front of the God to give up bad habits or for peace between two quarrelling groups or two persons or even two political parties. Pledge is a practice, which is taken officially after paying challan at Kanipakam Vinayaka temple.
The increasing menace of alcohol addiction is resulting in falling health conditions and rising marital disputes in the villages. As well as in the urban areas, consumption of alcohol has increased. As a result, domestic disputes are also increasing. Tirupati surroundings, Renigunta, Chandragiri, Puttur and nearby villages along with some other villages in the urban vicinity, the number of police cases is also on the rise.
Cases booked
“All police cases are at compromising level, either at the stations or Lok Adalat,” said Renigunta DSP Nanjundappa. The official said that if they do not book cases and often bring them to police station, they will again attack one another and hence cases are booked and attached to Lok Adalat. “This is one type of solution to bring the middle class families into law and order track,” he explained.
Nanjundappa said that apart from these, the families of both urban and rural areas, have a practice of bringing their husbands to Kanipakam Vinayaka temple. “Later, some of the villagers and mainly residents of Tirupati, Pileru and surrounding areas visit Moolasthanamamma (Goddess Yallamma) temple in Chandragiri,” he said.
Recently, ‘Osamma’, a village folk goddess at MD Puttur, is said to have become serious against liquor addicts, and this spread like wildfire. But, the goddess is available for liquor addicts only on Tuesdays. Every week there will be nearly 1,500 to 3,000 addicts along with their families visit the temple.
The women bring their children, addict husband or mother-in-law. If the child accompanies them, the father has to pledge both on the god and his child or mother or close relative as a vow to stop consumption of alcohol. “I have brought my husband for pledge, as my brother visited this temple and stopped drinking. I insisted my family to come here and take oath,” Salamma from Naidupeta said.
Ramanaiah, a native of MD Puttur, said that since decades people have been visiting the temple because the goddess is very powerful, but in recent days, the number of visitors has increased.