A shut and open case
THE DRIVE against liquor in Kaithal district in Haryana reached its most ludicrous in March this year when the Kamoda village panchayat resolved to reopen the village's liquor vend in the village. Says panchayat member Baju Ram, "The decision was taken because liquor was still easily available and there was a sharp rise in consumption in the village."
The panchayat was forced to close the theka in April last year, after a 5-year-old girl was raped by an alcoholic. Despite the closure, more than 200 alcoholics from the 350 households in the village continue to get liquor from thekas in neighbouring villages and from vendors in Kamoda itself.
"Some vendors even sold liquor to children to promote sales. These children dropped out of school and drank openly with the grown-ups," says Pawan Kumar. The panchayat says it is to curb this growing consumption that it decided to reverse the closure decision. But one of the villagers contends the panchayat reopened the theka because its members, including the sarpanch, drink regularly.