BHUBANESWAR: A group of women, children, and youth in Odisha's Bharatpur ransacked a country liquor depot and four illegal liquor outlets, and trashed bottles of liquor on Sunday in protest against the district administration's reluctance to shut down liquor outlets in their locality that were fuelling drunken brawls and domestic violence.
Later, they staged a demonstration on the Khandagiri - Studio Square Road in Bharatpur.
Though the women had demanded that the closure of liquor shops, the police or the district administration did not take any action, the protestors said.
Drunken brawls have become a common sight in the area known for rampant liquor sales, a protester said.
“Several cases of domestic violence have come to the fore, women are assaulted by their husbands who steal utensils, ornaments, clothes and even children's school books to buy liquor," Sukanti Mohanta, president of All Odisha Krantikari Mahila Sangathan said.
The liquor shops have ruined the financial status of most of the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families in the area, a protester alleged.
The irate women attacked the liquor shops and destroyed cartons of liquor. Later, the depot was fully demolished, a police official said. The women also gheraoed Chandaka Police station demanding action against the illegal liquor vendors who operate in the area.
The protesters were stopped by the police while they were proceeding to ransack a foreign liquor shop near Naka Gate in Ghatikia. The district administration has sought one week's time to shift the liquor shop at Ghatikia.
"If they do not comply, this liquor shop will also be demolished soon," a group of agitated youths said.