Boozers have been served a stern warning by womenfolk of a Haryana village.

A group of women crusaders agitated over the drinking habits of their menfolk in village Babbanpur of Fatehabad district held a meeting and imposed total prohibition in the village situated about 250 km from Chandigarh.
Led by the woman sarpanch, Baljeet Kaur, the woman-dominated panchayat not only announced heavy monetary penalty for the offenders but also assigned patrolling duties to women for maintaining vigil at the village border.

A group of about 30 women from the village have volunteered for patrolling duties from 6 pm to 9 pm and then 4 am to 7 am in shifts.

Supply chain
“The motive is to cut the supply chain of drugs and liquor into the village,” said sarpanch Baljeet Kaur.

She said many families in the village have had to suffer badly due to the drinking habits of their men.

The location of the village near the Punjab border has also acted as a catalyst for drug pedlars to try their wares in the village.

The women have been conducting a campaign against drinking and drug trafficking for past sometime. 
“Enough is enough. We have been raising our voice but to no avail. Now that the panchayat has issued an edict, the womenfolk of whole village have got the desired backing for a concerted campaign,” said villager Daya Kumari.

The fines
Anyone daring to flout the panchayat edict are slated to be fined heavily.

Those found supplying liquor to the villagers would have to shell out Rs 21,000.

Anyone found under the influence of liquor would be penalized by Rs 11,000.

Much worse could be the ominous threat by Kaur that the offenders could get thrashed and find their faces blackened if they did not mend their ways.

The panchayat has also announced awards of Rs 1,000 to anyone providing information about the offenders of the prohibition.