Village of widows: The women paying the price for Puducherry’s alcohol economy

In Melayur village in Karaikal, more than 70 households have women who became widows, many of them at a young age. Several women told South First that their husbands died after years of alcohol dependence, leaving them to raise children and earn a living alone.

At the same time, Puducherry’s excise revenue from alcohol reached ₹1,733.5 crore in 2025–26.

This ground report from Melayur looks at the other side of Puducherry’s alcohol economy — the families left behind, the women forced into daily-wage work, and the cost of alcohol that cannot be measured in revenue figures.

Watch the full report to hear the stories of the women of Melayur