Once, when Mayank Gandhi was giving a lecture at Rewali village of Marathwada, a girl named Sangeeta narrated her tragic daily routine of being beaten up by her alcoholic father.Her eyes filled with tears, she asked the villagers, "Are we not humans?"

Alcohol dependence among depressed menfolk was not only a cause of social unrest, but also acted as an impediment to their involvement in farming and other agricultural activities. Any solution we gave to some of these individuals would lead to further violence.The only sustainable solution was to initiate a DAARU BANDI campaign in all the villages.

Thousands of women and children held mashaals and walked around the villages, requesting alcohol sellers to shut their shops. Women sat outside liquor stores singing bhajans. Soon, the sale of illicit liquor stopped.

A few months later, we also noticed that with alcohol gone as an impediment, farmers were more open to learning new methods of agriculture, attending more training sessions, and being proactive in making decisions that could potentially change their lives for the better.