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Drought likely to hinder gudumba eradication
The widely prevailed drought is likely to hinder the government’s efforts to eradicate gudumba (illicitly distilled liquor, ID liquor) menace from the State. Though the officials of various districts recently announced that they have successfully curbed the manufacturing and sale of ID liquor in their respective districts, it is still being manufactured in some pockets.
Karimnagar: The widely prevailed drought is likely to hinder the government’s efforts to eradicate gudumba (illicitly distilled liquor, ID liquor) menace from the State.
Though the officials of various districts recently announced that they have successfully curbed the manufacturing and sale of ID liquor in their respective districts, it is still being manufactured in some pockets.
With a sacred motto to protect poor people and families from gudumba menace, the State government launched a special drive to eliminate ID liquor from the State and issued instructions to district officials in this regard. The Excise and police department officials conducted raids and destroyed material and manufacturing centres across the State.
Sale of Jaggery was also banned in rural areas and cases were registered against people, who kept Jaggery in their homes. The Collectors of Nizamabad, Karimnagar and other districts had announced their districts as ID liquor-free, but in fact it was not 100 per cent.
For instance, Karimnagar was declared as ID liquor-free on December 3. But Husnabad police seized gudumba and registered cases against six persons during their recent raids in Jillellagadda and Mirjapur thanda.
Speaking to The Hans India, Lavudia Susheela, who was arrested for preparing illicit liquor, questioned how they could live if they were forced to stop gudumba preparation without showing alternate income source. She said that she stopped preparing gudumba since six months but the police arrested her as they found a small piece of ‘Patika’, which plays a vital role in the preparation of ID liquor, in her house.
Susheela, who owns two acres of land, couldn’t cultivate any crop due to lack of water source and prolonged dry spell. Her husband, Gema is working as a daily labour in Karimnagar. As her family had lost earning source after the government decided to eradicate gudumba, she said that her daughter has to discontinue her Intermediate studies and working in cotton field in the neighbouring villages to earn Rs 120 per day.
Similar was the case of Lavudia Suguna, whose family was trapped in debts after purchasing tractor. To clear debts, she used to prepare gudumba. Another villager, Srinivas said majority of the people stayed away from cultivation as there was no water resource and also they were not getting works regularly under National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme as there was 25 groups in the village. Moreover, job seekers were not getting more than Rs 80 since the soil was very hard.
Husnabad SI Yerrolla Kiran said that it was the regular practice of the villagers to prepare gudumba and they would not stop it despite frequent counselling.
By:Raghu Paithari
