Wife walks out on drunkard

SANGRUR: Even as the SAD-BJP alliance government in Punjab has set higher target of revenue from sale of liquor, people in the villages have become direct victims of the state's liquor policy. Homes are getting ruined and families breaking as drunken men beat, abuse their wives, till the women opt to walk out of their marriage and homes.
The case of Raj Kaur of Cheema village is a typical one where life turned hell for the family when its head would do nothing but drink, kick and abuse others.Raj reportedly suffered domestic violence for more than two decades before she called it quits and left the house along with her daughter. She is now working as a helper in an educational academy.
Raj's story of misery started as soon as she tied the knot with a labourer 30 years ago. 'My husband would spend every penny for buying liquor. He will then get violent over routine things. I had hoped that he would reform after having kids. But things only got worse,'' she recounts.
Her voice cracked as she said, 'He would throw me out of the house after beating me up mercilessly. I would sit outside and wait for him to go to sleep so that I could sneak back and take some rest. But soon, he started hitting my daughter. That was the last straw.'
Said Kamal Anand of People for Transparency, an NGO working in the field, 'There are numerous cases where drunkards have made life miserable for the family members, especially the womenfolk and efforts were being made to arrest this trend.'