Forty-year-old liquor ban continues in tribal village in Kothagudem

The remote village in the district has a population of 1500, mostly tribals. Their main occupation is agriculture as nearly 80 percent of the families have land holdings of two to three acres and the remaining work as farm labourers locally and outside the village.

Kothagudem: The residents of Ramaraopet in Dummugudem mandal have been strictly following a ban imposed on the sale and consumption of liquor in the village, one that came into being about 40 years ago.

The remote village in the district has a population of 1500, mostly tribals. Their main occupation is agriculture as nearly 80 percent of the families have land holdings of two to three acres and the remaining work as farm labourers locally and outside the village.

Speaking to Telangana Today, an elder of the village Podiam Subba Rao informed that the ban on liquor, arrack or gudumba was imposed by the elders some four decades ago. The decision was taken after many families were going bankrupt due to their addiction to liquor.

In the past, the residents of the village used to brew arrack and gudumba for personal use as well as for selling. But now such practices have totally stopped. No villager has ever violated the liquor ban so far, Subba Rao said.

There are around 350 families and all the families pledged to make their village an ideal village by staying away from liquor consumption. Imposing a ban on liquor is mainly intended for the well being of younger generations, he explained.

The villagers often take out rallies against liquor consumption to remind themselves of their vow. The only time liquor comes into the village is during religious ceremonies and offerings are made to the village deities; in other times it is not allowed in the village, Subba Rao noted.

Ramaraopet is not the only village in the district where consumption and sale is prohibited. The residents of Anamtogu gram panchayat in Allapalli mandal have also declared a war against liquor. They imposed a ban on sale and consumption of liquor in the village.

The decision to ban liquor in Anamtogu was taken in November 2024 after the women guided by former mandal parishad president K Manju Bhargavi and former sarpanch Sammakka held a meeting and passed a resolution.

The villagers also circulated a copy of the resolution that states: “In view of the well being of families and children, an anonymous resolution has been passed banning liquor, arrack and chiguru (a kind of a drink brewed from toddy) to each family in the village.”