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Caging drunkards, imposing fine: Nat community's experiment in Gujarat to fight the menace
The community has claimed that the move has been effective as more members are getting dissuaded from consuming liquor and a lesser number of people are getting caught every year.
In a bid to fight the menace of alcoholism, the Nat community in some villages of Gujarat has adopted a social experiment - caging and fining those found in an inebriated state. The idea of setting up a makeshift cage for drunkards was first floated by the community in Motipura village of Ahmedabad district, reported news agency PTI citing village sarpanch Babu Nayak. People caught drunk were incarcerated for a night in the makeshift cage and a fine of ₹1,200 was imposed on them.
The report suggests that the method was soon replicated in 24 villages that had a sizeable number from the Nat community with high liquor consumption in a dry state with a strong prohibition law. The community has claimed that the move has been effective as more members are getting dissuaded from consuming liquor and a lesser number of people are getting caught every year, according to PTI.
"In 2017, we first decided to impose a fine of ₹1,200 on drunkards, but the community members later realised that was not enough, so the rule of caging such people for a night was framed," PTI Nayak as saying.
The members of the community caught drunk are provided with only a bottle of water for the night and a container to relieve themselves. Villagers have claimed that the experiment has also led to a reduction in the instances of domestic violence. A team responsible for keeping an eye on such people also acts on tip-offs from villagers.
"The fine imposed by the community is collected and spent on religious and social works. We also offer money as financial support to widows and the poor for marriage of their daughters," PTI quoted Rajesh Nayak, another member of the Nat community, as saying.
(With PTI inputs)
