By launching a fussilade against Golwad, it is this confidence -- born of decades of brewing and consuming alcohol -- that the Surat police have taken on. After all, alcohol brewing and consuming is an older habit here than the dry law itself.

While the three-hour-long drive was not remarkable by way of seizures or arrests -- it yielded only a few dozen bottles of Indian Made Foreign Liquor and about 15 litres of country liquor, and led to the detention of 26 people -- it is distinguished by the fact that the Golwad residents put up practically no resistance at all as the huge police contingent barged in.

Though the police strength could have been a deterrent, the residents of Golwad are not well known for their restraint with intruders. The number of raiding parties that have been forced to beat a retreat in the locality is testimony to their zeal to protect their trade.

Police Commissioner Kuldip Sharma, however, is convinced that this time, it is the bootleggers who will be beating a retreat. ``This is just the beginning'', he told Express Newsline. ``The raids will continue till the Navapura-Golwad area is bone dry.''

If his ambition is not fulfilled, however, he will have no one but his own officers to blame. Even as stray stones were being pelted at the policemen during the raid last night, a sub-inspector was heard announcing proudly, ``Even if I walk this entire stretch alone, not a single stone will hit me. Everyone knows me here.''

While the PSI unwittingly hinted the deep police-bootlegger nexus was one reason why bootlegging would survive, Shakuntalaben, a local resident, said, ``It is practically impossible to stem the flow of liquor here. It is not the question of what is legal and what is not; it's a question of our livelihood.''

Even as the police raided her house, breaking boxed and empty bottles, she oozed confidence about the future. ``The police can't afford to keep a watch all day round the year. They've just ruined a Sunday's business. Everything will be all right tomorrow.''

Neither the concentrated raid nor the reputation of the area, however, implies that Golwad is the only wet locality of the city. What sets it apart is it's total indifference to the dry law. As a resident quipped, on being told that the glass of liquor on offer is too large and should be substituted by one quarter its size, ``Aatli daaru to hame dushman ney pan nathi aapta (We serve more liquor even to our enemies)''.

The prohibition police were nowhere in the picture during Sunday's raid; the department's seniormost officials Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) D G Vanjhara and superintendent G S Puwar have both been away for the past three days. A departmental PI, however, said that the puny prohibition force would have been unable to make any dent at all in Golwad. ``Only the police, with its manpower and vehicles can do something worthwhile there,'' he said.