The 12-day padayatra seeking a ban on liquor in the State will come to an end on Wednesday. The participants plan to march towards the Vidhana Soudha and stage a silent protest.
They said although the padayatra has completed 11 days, no elected representative has listened to their concerns. They also claimed that Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy had called some participants but had not given any assurances.
More than 2,000 women from many districts began the padayatra on January 19 at Chitradurga. The women, aged between 20 and 70, have covered around 20 km a day since. They reached Bengaluru on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, they will walk around 5 km to reach the Vidhana Soudha from Malleswaram, where they are camped.
Several women who are seniors citizens too have joined the march, being organised by the Madya Nisheda Andolana. Sharada Gopal, a women’s rights activist, said alcohol addiction is resulting in violence against women in many villages and also causing poverty. “It is difficult to make ends meet for the household when men spend a large chunk of the money on alcohol. As a result, children do not get adequate nutrition and are left malnourished,” she said.
The padayatra took a tragic turn when a 60-year-old participant died after being hit by a motorcycle near Kuluvanahalli in Nelamangala on Sunday night, just as the protesters were entering the city. The deceased, Renukamma, was from Raichur district.
