Hundreds of women, from elderly citizens to others as young as 19, marched from Malleswaram Grounds to Freedom Park on Wednesday seeking a ban on liquor in the State.
January 30 marked the 12th day of their padayatra that began in Chitradurga. On an average, protesters walked around 20 km a day and covered 20 districts including Belagavi, Kalaburagi, Ballari, Koppal, Yadgir, Bidar, Haveri, Chitradurga, Raichur, Dharwad, Bagalkot, Tumakuru to arrive in Bengaluru.
They had planned to march towards Vidhana Soudha but were stopped as they approached Freedom Park. Refusing to call off their protest, the women sat on the streets demanding Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy heed their demands.
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Although Cooperation Minister Bandeppa Kashempur visited the spot, they refused to talk to him and demanded an audience with Mr. Kumaraswamy.
Every woman had a story about how alcohol had affected their lives.
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Dilshad M. Sutar, 23, from Belagavi recalled how her uncle would come home from work drunk and physically abuse her aunt and children.
“Liquor consumption always destroys families, and it is the women and children who have to bear the brunt,” she said.
Others spoke of how they were beaten until they gave they money to their husbands who would spend it on alcohol. “I am undertaking this padayatra for the sake of my 20-year-old son who drinks a lot and beats me and my daughter. We are forced to starve for days on end. I don’t feel the pain in my legs [from walking]. I am fighting for this liquor ban to save my son’s life,” said one woman.
Protesters accused the government of fuelling alcoholism by giving licences to shop owners and said it was loath to ban liquor owing to the revenue loss.
Another women from the same district, Eerava Kurburhatti, 40, said: “My husband always comes back home drunk and beats me up at night. The children who see this everyday, are traumatised. My husband spends all the money he earns on alcohol. I have to work and take care of the families. Very often I find it difficult to make ends meet.”
Many activists, including freedom fighter H.S. Doreswamy, theatre activist Arundathi Nag and anti-corruption activist S.R. Hiremath, participated in the march. Parts of Central Bengaluru saw traffic snarls caused by the padayatra.