On Friday morning, in a fit of rage against the apathy of authorities to repeated pleas to shift an arrack shop from a residential area, a group of women activists went on a rampage inside the premises of the outlet, driving away those inside and destroying stocks.
The storming of the shop was led by women activists comprising residents of Goundampalayam and members of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), accompanied by a few other activists of Communist Party of India (CPI), Puducherry unit.
Nearly 100-odd women assembled before the arrack shop at Goundampalayam. They barged into the vending area of the shop and went on a attack on whatever they could see. The attack sent the handful of early hour tipplers scattering helter-skelter. The women broke the barrels of arrack kept there and emptied plastic cans. They also smashed the bottles and eatables and then walked out to stage protest on the road. Police rushed to the spot sparking off heated exchanges.
S. Sumathy of the NFIW said that the shop was located close to the vicinity of schools and hospitals. The liquor consumers had been causing nuisance to the residents every day. Several women suffered due to the existence of the shop here.
Road users and pedestrians were not able to cross the area as the most of the time drunk people could be found lying on the road, she said.
The residents had been demanding the relocation of the arrack shop for several years but the authorities paid no heed, the women complained. The Excise Department had been in the process of conducting online bidding process for the outlet. The department should cancel the bidding process and shift the arrack shop immediately, the residents demanded.
