SOCIETY

Liquor-addicted men turn a village into a land of widows

     Dharampuri (Tamil Nadu): Life seems to have come to a standstill for hundreds of women who lost their husbands to poisonous liquor in Iyyampatti village of Dharampuri district. Destiny has dealt them a hard blow. They do not know how to survive as widows. The irony of the village is, the manufacturers themselves are the consumers. The male population of the village is adamant not to give up this habit of consuming liquor, though they have lost so many of their people. They do not believe that doctors or rehabilitation centre can help. "I am addicted to 'arrack' for past ten years. I tried a lot but could not give up this habit. I was also taken to the doctors and from there to the rehabilitation centre, but all went in vain. Though I have controlled this habit up to some extent but not completely and it is very difficult," said Manthiri, an addict. This village lost many a male member due to the consumption of 'arrack'. It is a village of widows with more than 100 of them aged between 20 and 30 Most of the widows are leading a very tough life, toiling hard for their livelihood. They have small children to look after. The village does not give them any option, other than selling flowers or garlands and working in the fields. A difficult life indeed! "I lost my husband two years back to illicit liquor, who was a habitual drunkard. I am alone and have a small baby to look after. I really don't know how to run this pathetic life alone. I am trying to sustain my small family by selling flowers in the train and on the roadside. I work through out the day, but hardly make 10 buck," said Pathmavathi, a widow. In 10 years more than 150 males of this village have died and the village is now known as 'Widow village'. In fact some of the families have lost all their male members. "Manufacturing 'arrack', an illicit liquor and consuming it is the tradition here. Most of the women lost their husbands to liquor. If this continues, a day will come when this village will have no male member and the women here will rue their pathetic life," claims Veluswamy, President, Iyyampatti Village. The villagers have appealed the government for some financial help, as the village is already a drought hit area but no help has been given so far.
-Aug 11, 2005

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