Kohima: A women’s group in Nagaland’s Phek district has established multiple checkpoints to curb the flow of liquor into the dry state ahead of the Assembly Elections to be held on February 27. The stated aim is to prevent the supply of liquor offered as an inducement to voters in the district during the ongoing polling in the state, reported PTI. Phek is mostly occupied by Pochury and Chakhesang tribes. The district comprises five assembly constituencies with a total of four seats in the Chakhesang region and some villages from the Meluri constituency that has Pochury tribes.
Women from the Chakhesang Naga tribe under the Chakhesang Mothers' Association (CMA) have installed around 100 checkpoints in their area to restrict the flow of liquor offered as inducement during the elections, reported PTI. This is as per the CMA president Zhonelü Tunyi.
She said, “During elections, the flow of liquor as an inducement is very high while many people get into physical fights and clashes in support of candidates becoming enemies and even leading to the killing.”
According to the PTI report, she said, “Therefore, our main objective is to have a free, fair and inducement-free election with the expectation that once such flow of inducements is stopped, people will remain sober and avoid getting into conflicts.”
Tunyi also stated that during elections, people get drunk without any shame. Shed further said after the elections, they repeatedly ask for money from candidates and political leaders.
She acknowledged that the flow of liquor continues even during other times. Tunyi added, “We are also mothers and have our own responsibilities at home and personal work as well making it difficult for us to maintain the checks throughout the year, but during the election period the flow of liquor increases manifold for inducing voters.”
Commenting on the installation of checkpoints to stop the liquor flow, police said that they appreciate such moral policing until the time the enforcers don’t take the law into their hands. The police added that all such issues should be reported to them directly, as reported by PTI.
Women from the CMA believe such skirmishes can be avoided and the electioneering process will be peaceful if the people of the region don't lose their sense.
Tunyi said, “We are having sleepless nights because we want our society and future generations to be better.”
She defended the move by saying that the women have set up bamboo check-gates in their own village entry points, highways and main roads where the vehicles are being stopped for frisking.
"We are getting support from all the 80 villages while villages having borders with other districts and even neighbouring Manipur state has 3-4 checkpoints," Tunyi said, as quoted by PTI.
She said that thousands of women and mothers are involved in the project.
Pocury Mothers Association in the Meluri constituency have also expressed their appreciation for the move and is expected to initiate similar projects in their areas as well.
Meanwhile, Tunyi said, “Except for the District Magistrate and Surveillance Team, all vehicles including that of candidates and political party leaders and workers as well as police vehicles not on election duty are being checked.”
She agreed that such actions to check the vehicles should be done by the district administration. However, she said the CMA has all the required permission from then concerned departments to move ahead with their work for the general welfare and for peaceful and inducement-free elections in the state.
She asserted that the election office has also appreciated the initiative taken by the CMA. Tunyi claimed that the association reports all the massive illegal consignments to the police. However, the smaller consignments for the purpose of self-consumption are being destroyed on the spot, reported PTI.
Tunyi said the flow of liquor is less than what it was during the 2018 elections. She said, “The quantity of liquor seized and destroyed was very high in 2018 elections to the extent of seizing up to 10 cases from one vehicle but this time it is much lesser.”
According to the PTI report, Chakhesang Public Organisation and other organisations like Chakhesang Students Union, Chakhesang Youth Front, Chakhesang Clean Election Movement, Chakhesang Women Welfare Society, district administration and law enforcement agencies have extended their support to the initiatives by the CMA.