The death toll from a batch of hazardous illegal alcohol in India has increased to 52, according to media reports on Sunday, after additional hospitalised victims succumbed to the noxious concoction.
According to Tamil Nadu state Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, the locally manufactured arrack drink was spiked with lethal methanol, killing 37 people within hours of drinking the illegal booze on Tuesday.
More than 100 patients were transported to the hospital, but some were too ill for doctors to save.
Every year, hundreds of people die in India from cheap alcohol produced in backstreet distilleries, but this poisoning is one of the most severe in recent years. To improve its strength, spirits is frequently spiked with methanol, which can result in blindness, liver damage, and death.
Selling and consuming spirits is illegal in many other parts of India, which fuels the growing underground market for powerful and occasionally dangerous backstreet moonshine.
Last year, deadly alcohol killed at least 27 individuals in one sitting in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, and at least 42 people died in 2022.
The Indian Express newspaper on Sunday quoted Palraj, a local councillor, as saying that poor labourers in Kallakurichi district would often buy spirits in small bags for 60 rupees ($0.70) and drink it before going to work. Some became blind and were transported to the hospital. Others perished quickly, fainting on the street.
According to the Press Trust of India news agency, M.S. Prasanth, the top government official in the state’s Kallakurichi district, “52 people have passed away” as of Saturday.
On Sunday, other Indian media reported a death toll of 55, but no official confirmation was immediately available.According to Prasanth, seven people have been arrested in connection with the “spurious liquor tragedy”, according to PTI.
Tamil Nadu is not a dry state, although black market spirits is cheaper than legal alcohol. The Indian Express also met with Kolanji, a domestic worker whose husband died on Thursday after drinking a package of contaminated tea.
What they’re saying
“The men work just to drink, and the women run the family,” motorised rickshaw driver Shankar, who lives on a street where 23 people were killed, told the Indian Express.
Why this matters
Many affected individuals are from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, making them more vulnerable to purchasing cheaper, but dangerous, alternatives. Deaths from poisonous alcohol can devastate families and communities, exacerbating social and economic challenges.
Bottom Line
Government efforts to regulate and control the production and distribution of alcohol are critical in preventing such tragedies. The social impact, as mentioned by locals like Shankar, underscores the broader implications on families and communities affected by these illicit practices.
