PUDUKOTTAI: It's a hot summer afternoon and a group of women waiting at a bus stop in
Natchandupatti village in Pudukkottai with children share stories and smiles. The situation was not so pleasant two years ago when the women were waging a long battle to close a TASMAC shop nearby.
A few metres away from the bus stop is the upgraded government Primary Health Centre (PHC). The TASMAC outlet was located right between the PHC and the bus stop, causing trouble to residents.
Speaking about the issues they faced when the shop was open, S Raeesa, a resident of Natchandupatti, said, "Our daughters had a hard time going to school as they had to cross the outlet. We faced a lot of difficulty while going to a nearby hospital as well. Besides, most of the tipplers would often abuse their
wives. All that has stopped now. We are able to walk freely as this is the route to go anywhere from our villages."
The number of road accidents and small fights has come down, said the doctors and nurses at the PHC. "We are the only PHC in this area and we were seeing a lot of accidents and people coming for treatment after fights. The TASMAC shop was extremely close to our centre. The number of patients coming due to
accidents has significantly reduced in the past two years," said a doctor.
Kulipirai, another village that falls in Thirumayam taluk, has been liquor-free since the 1980s. The village has more than 700 families and 2,000 voters, and has been successful in refusing to allow a liquor shop to be opened for over four decades now.
Rajendran Babu, a resident of Kulipirai, said that there used to liquor shops in the 70s in the village. The State lifted prohibition and Kulipirai saw the functioning of toddy shops from 1971 to 1974. When the prohibition was lifted again in 1981 by the MGR government, Kulipirai completely avoided toddy shops,
and later TASMAC outlets, and since then there has been no such shop.
Speaking about the resolution to keep the village 'alcohol-free', local councillor Pandian said, "One won't find any TASMAC shop in the surrounding 10-15 km. We want to keep our village clean. Our children are educated and the women go to work. Of course, residents may drink when they go to town, but not in our
village anymore."
Elaborating on the ways the villagers ensure alcohol is restricted in the village, Rajendran said, "If people come after drinking, or we find that someone is selling illegal liquor, we call the police and ensure that they are given a punishment. This creates awareness and the rest stay away from alcohol when they
see this. My children are doctors and many from this village are well-educated and settled abroad."
Nachammai P, the village president, who hopes other villages too follow suit to make the state alcohol-free, said, "Everyone in this village is happy and there is no violence against women here. Children study well. We will ensure that our Kulipirai always stays alcohol free."
The TASMAC manager for Pudukkottai confirmed that these villages and their surrounding radius of 5 kms have no shops, thanks to the efforts of the residents.