ADILABAD: The agency areas in the erstwhile Adilabad district are reverberating with the slogan ‘Kalnisa Pani.. Lago Lago ( No to the consumption of any kind of liquor), putting the state government to embarassment.
The adivasis are mentioning about Panchayatraj Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act of Telangana and are protesting against setting up liquor shops in the Agency areas much before the state government issuing notification for tenders to run liquor shops in the state.
Cutting across party lines, elected representatives, sarpanches and MPTCs are voluntarily coming forward to oppose liquor sales in the agency areas.
Adivasis are passing unanimous resolutions against liquor shops in their villages in PESA village committees and submitting them to the district. The PESA committees have right to take decisions about their villages.
The state government has conducted elections to village PESA committees but now the committees are giving sleepless nights to the government officials by exercising their rights.
The adivasis argue that many of them are spending a lot of money on liquor consumption and losing their lives and ruining their families.
Many adivasi families are falling into debts and losing their lands and other assets in clearing the debts.
Adivasi leaders of Sirpur(U), Lingapur and Jainoor mandals have already submitted representations to collector Rajiv Gandhi Hanumanthu of Kumara-mbheem Asifabad district and excise officials appealing them not to allow setting up of liquor shops in their villages.
The gram panchayats comes under above mandals have unanimously passed resolutions under PESA committees against setting up liquor shops.
The villagers, including a large number of women of Harkapur gram panchayat, passed an unanimous resolution against setting up liquor shops in Indravelli mandal in the Adilabad district.
It is learnt that the excise officials told the adivasi leaders that brewing of gudumba and sale of cheap liquor and belt shops will increase if there is no sale of liquor.
However, the adivasi leaders told the excise officials concerned that they will remove all the belt shops in their villages and ban the liquor sale of any kind and impose fines on selling or consuming any kind of liquor in their villages and also will not allow brewing gudumba.
The adivasi leaders argue that the excise officials should take steps against setting up of liquor shops by not including the villages and mandal headquarters in the list of places calling for tenders for setting up liquor shops.
Adivasi leader Jugnaka Devu, former MPTC of Marlavai, said, “once I was a habitual boozer but gave up consumption of liquor after realising that it ruined his personal life and image.”
He said people elected him as an MPTC of Marlavai after giving up liquor consumption and added that he constructed a house and provided good education to his children and was living a better life after giving up liquor.
Devu said now he is in the forefront to oppose setting up of liquor shops in agency areas. Adivasis recently felicitated him for his contribution.
