How sakhi mandals curbed liquor menace in Surat, Tapi

SURAT: Chief minister Anandiben Patel recently announced empowering sakhi mandals (womens' groups) to help curb crime, especially illegal liquor dens, in the state.
But the CM's idea seems to have roots in the spontaneous and sustained movement undertaken by sakhi mandals in Surat and Tapi districts to kill the evil of liquor addiction in the villages.Most of these women were those widowed at a young age after the husbands died due to liquor addiction. So fed up were these women with the menace that they took upon themselves to destroy the illegal breweries in interior tribal villages. Armed with sticks and pipes, the women used to set out daily, attack the breweries and break the containers of hooch and torch the material used to make the brew.
Braving threats and non-cooperation of police till 2011, these women had managed to raze large number of breweries.
In some villages the liquor brewing has come under control while in majority of the villages the liquor breweries have started operating again soon after the Sakhi Mandal movement came to rest in 2013.
Meena Patel, former president of a sakhi mandal in Vehval village of Surat, said, "We continued the campaign till 2013 but due to limited support from police, the situation is slowing going back to square one. Breweries started operating again as soon as we stopped attacking them." Patel is currently president of one of 40 sakhi mandals in the village. Vehval was pioneer in initiating this movement against liquor.
In January 2009 alone, over 100 breweries were destroyed in Surat and Tapi districts.
As per an estimate, over 3,000 women, who lost their husbands due to country liquor addiction, are part of the movement against hooch.
"Police took help of women and other locals from villages in Kakrapar police station area in 2012. An assessment in 2014 revealed that liquor trade was down by around 60 percent in the villages under that police station area. It was partially successful attempt but we wish that the women's role should be limited only to sharing information and not beyond that," said Hasmukh Patel, inspector general of police, Surat range.
Social scientists claim that the region had witnessed a similar movement in early 20th century. "It has been found in research done by experts that in early 20th century a movement against liquor was started by tribal women and it spread across south Gujarat and adjoining Maharashtra's tribal region too," said Satyakam Joshi, director of Centre of Social Studies (CSS), Surat.