Delhi (CNN) An Indian state minister has come up with a controversial way to fight alcohol abuse.

Gopal Bhargava, a state minister in India's Madhya Pradesh, gave 10,000 wooden bats to newlyweds and their family members at a mass wedding ceremony for poor women in Garhakota district on Sunday.

Alcoholism, he says, is a serious issue for the women in his district. "When I go to the village all the women tell me to ban liquor," he told CNN.

Their husbands often spend all their earnings on drink, he said, leaving little for the household.

"If a family gets 100 rupees, and then at least 50 rupees are spent on the alcohol," Bhargava said.

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