Led by a woman, two villages in Jharkhand become alcohol-free

Two villages of Jharkhand become an inspiration for other villages of India as these villages have turned alcohol and drug-addiction free. Due to persistent efforts including community mobilisation, awareness drives and behavioural training workshops organised by Hemanti Didi, social worker and the volunteers of a social organisation, a large-scale attitudinal shift was witnessed in the Kutam and Alankel.

Khunti (Jharkhand):Khunti, a tribal-dominated district of Jharkhand which is 70kms away from Ranchi, has become an inspiration for other districts of the country. The district's two villages have turned alcohol and drug-addiction free.

Due to persistent efforts including community mobilisation, awareness drives and behavioural training workshops organised by Hemanti Didi, social worker and the volunteers of a social organisation, a large-scale attitudinal shift was witnessed in the Kutam and Alankel. A few years ago, these two villages had 90 per cent addiction rate.

Speaking to ETV Bharat, social worker, Hemanti, said, " The seemingly impossible task to make the gram panchayat alcohol and drug addiction free was possible due to active support of the self-help group (SHG) of the village along with volunteers. I and members of the organisation visited the villages and kept a tab on sale of illicit liquor."

"MGNREGA commissioner Siddharth Tripathi of Jharkhand comes to meet the villagers on holidays, by motivating the villagers by explaining the strength of the gram sabha. This motive has led to the change of destiny of the village, it’s youth and women. Now the villagers have changed the picture of the village by their own hard work," she said.

"Schemes and making buildings in the names of development does not signify to development. The development will take place when the villagers themselves realize its importance and take initiative from their own level. Today this village is on the path of self-reliance. The villagers themselves are responsible to make this village free from alcohol and they will write a new chapter of betterment and development in future as well," said MGNREGA commissioner Siddharth Tripathi.

"Jharkhand's tribal-dominated village where there is a complete prohibition on alcohol but there was also a time when the people of the village used to drink alcohol worth lakhs of rupees. Hemanti Didi came to this village at the same time and she launched a campaign against liquor. But as time passed, after September 2019, Hemanti's hard work paid off. The villagers together got rid of the social evil of alcohol and drugs. Now the drug-free Kutam and Alankel are setting new examples of development," said Tripathi.