That prohibition in Gujarat is a farce is a well-accepted fact. But visits to villages in Savli taluka of the district underline the wisdom of the State's founding fathers when they banned the consumption of liquor. Unfortunately, prohibition, such as it is, is an urban phenomenon, and in no way protects Shivabhai Gohil and his ilk from its ill-effects.

Yet, more than their urban brethren, it is the village populace who need to be made aware of the repercussions of alcohol. Especially when it is brewed from battery and glass. Says Kaljibhai Gohil, 50, who's been addicted to alcohol since 17, ``Earlier we did brew liquor from mahuda; now we use whatever we can get, including batteries and glass,for quick fermentation.''

Night-blindness is only one of the ways such noxious drinks are manifesting themselves. Quite a few complain of difficulties with their vision during the day as well. Others simply aren't around to complain; they breathed their last as addicts of the local brew.

Principal of the local Bhakti Uttar Buniyadi Vidyalaya Ghanshyam Pandya recounts the pathetic tale of a man who fed liquor to a dog. Three bottles later, the dog died. That still did not discourage the man, who drank the fatal concoction the day after the dog's death. And breathed his last.

Few though are prepared to learn a lesson from these incidents. Addicts like Kaljibhai Gohil and Arjunsinh Rathod, for instance, say with an air of resignation that It's too late to quit.

Though there has been no official survey of these villages, a survey conducted by the National Service Scheme and the local school indicated more than 71 per cent of the villagers drank local liquor and nearly 40 per cent of them suffered fromnight-blindness.

In the opinion of noted eye specialist Dr Ashok Mehta, the damage is more serious than night-blindness. ``Country liquor leads to impaired vision as it causes toxic nuritis of the optic nerve'', he says, adding that a higher percentage of methyl alcohol could result in permanent loss of vision.

Country liquor addicts also ran the danger of deficiencies of vitamin A and other essentials, says District Health Officer V T Javli. The NSS survey says addicts suffer from tuberculosis as well.

Javli, surprisingly, says he registers no cases of night-blindness cases being reported to him. ``They prefer bhuvas (faith-healers), he shrugs. Villagers have a bizarre explanation for this: ``After all, the problem starts with sundown'', one says.

The fact that the nearest primary health care centre is seven km away also has a bearing on their decisions.

Asked what the authorities were doing about the widespread addiction, District Development Officer Anju Sharma says, ``We are educatingpeople to go for regular medical check-ups and avoid bhuvas

. We also promise an extensive survey and more medical attention to the villagers.''

While District Superintendent of Police (Rural) Shamsher Singh admits liquor is available, he says, ``The police alone can't check this social evil, social organisations need to play an important role.'' The police have registered 173 liquor cases in Savli taluka, against 140 last year, and demolished 20 bhattis.

Though sources in the underworld and police concede batteries are used for quick fermentation of country liquor, Singh said he had never come across such cases.