Mandawar becomes second liquor-free village in Rajasthan

UDAIPUR: Mandawar in

Bhim tehsil of Rajsamand

district has become the second alcohol-free village of the state after

Kachhbali

.

The referendum on Saturday saw 59.86 % of voters demanding removal of liquor shops from the area. Of the total registered 2,711 voters, 1,779 participated in the poll. Of these, 1,623 voted in favour of the liquor ban, 111 voted against the motion, while 55 votes were rejected.

“This is a victory of

women

folk here. They suffered the most financially and emotionally. They participated in all anti-alcohol drives which were held in past two years,” said sarpanch

Pyari Devi Rawat

, who spearheaded the latest campaign.

Women in the village had been demanding ban on alcohol for quite some time.

Kachhbali’s success inspired villagers

They had staged dharnas and initiated the referendum procedure some eight months ago. However, residents had to wait as the verification process took time before excise department conducted polling.

Inspired by Kachhbali success, the villagers were determined to repeat the history. However, they had seen their neighbours in Barjal village get disappointed when the referendum backfired last year.

“We made teams which went door-to-door to sensitize people about the ill-effects of booze. Even a mock polling was held where illiterate people, especially women, were taught how to cast their votes,” Pyari Devi told TOI.

On Saturday, voting was held from 8 am to 5 pm at

Atal Sewa Kendra

. On expected lines, the turnout of female voters was high.

According to villagers, there are around 700 people who live in other cities for work. All such people were also contacted by the gram panchayat and asked to take part in the polling. Besides doorto-door campaigns, villagers had also taken help of social media to spread awareness.