SEARCH identified alcohol as a major cause of violence against women and an economic drain on family income in Gadchiroli.

SEARCH collected evidence and led a political movement against alcohol by mobilizing the citizens of the district, 350 NGOs, all political parties, legislators, and the intelligentsia of Maharashtra  to change the  government  policy  leading  to restricted access to alcohol in Gadchiroli and to empower women throughout Maharashtra to vote to close down an alcohol shop in their locality if they considered that its sales harmed their lives