: The women of Kuppalli in the Hassan taluk, after many other failed efforts, seem to have succeeded in closing down 13 illegal liquor shops, including two restaurants serving alcohol without licenses, with the help of their guardian goddess Doddamma. A 50-strong group of women and a few young men carried the utsavamurthy (procession idol) of Doddamma to the doorsteps of liquor sellers on January 22, and insisted they took an oath on the deity’s name to close down their shops. “We had requested the owners many times to stop selling liquor in the village. They did not listen to us because they have been earning well,” said Kempamma, a resident of the village.
The suicide of a woman, a victim of domestic abuse at the hands of her alcoholic husband, appears to have been a catalyst for the unusual campaign. Hospitalised after she consuming a weedicide two months ago, Kumari, a mother of two, asked relatives gathered around her to shut down all liquor shops in Kuppalli. “The women of the village took her last wish seriously. They were convinced the liquor shops in the village were the main cause for many problems,” Annappa, another resident, The Hindu .
The errant shop owners protested variously. A woman running one such enterprise in turn threatened to commit suicide, were she forced to take such an oath. The undaunted and peaceful protesters called the Hassan Rural police. “A constable reached the spot and told the lady that running a liquor shop in the village was illegal. Finally, she too obliged [and took the oath to close down her shop],” said Sharadamma, who is also from Kuppalli.
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The owner of an establishment called the Green Food Court on the Hassan-Belur Road was even less tractable but the villagers prevailed over him as well. “We left the idol in front of his shop and went to Hassan to complain to the Deputy Commissioner of Excise. Senior officials arrived and insisted he stop liquor sales,” said H.S.Mahesh, one of the men leading the protest.
The women of Kuppalli are happy. “Since the day we protested in this different manner, all the illegal liquor shops have remained closed. The village has changed a lot. Men who used to spend their evenings drinking return home early and spend time with their family,” said Ms. Kempamma.