The recent hooch tragedy that has claimed about 100 lives in Mumbai serves to highlight the deadly nature of the liquid killer. The June 17 incident in the Malad suburb was not the first hooch mishap in the commercial capital that took a heavy toll. In December 2005, in the suburb of Vikhroli, 87 people died after consuming spurious liquor.
The menace is not limited to Maharashtra. Over the decades, hooch has repeatedly taken a toll, claiming lives across the country, from Uttar Pradesh to Kerala and from Maharashtra to West Bengal. In Bengal, more than 150 people died in the South 24 Parganas district in 2011 after consuming spurious liquor. Even Gujarat, a dry state since 1961, has been hit by hooch tragedies repeatedly.
Cases of spurious liquor deaths have haunted Orissa as well. In July 2009, two persons of Ranpur police limits died and one fell seriously ill after consuming illicit brew. In February 2012, the state was rocked by a hooch tragedy in which 29 people died after consuming liquor in Mahidharpada area of Cuttack. In June 2011, seven people from several villages of Kaptipada block in Mayurbhanj district died after consuming spurious liquor from a local shop.
One of the chemical compounds found in the drink consumed by the victims of most hooch tragedies is methyl alcohol or methanol. This compound is used as the main adulterant largely because it is similar in appearance and taste to ethyl alcohol. Besides, this is easily available. It is colourless, water-soluble, volatile and poisonous and is used in industry mainly as a solvent, fuel, and an automobile anti-freeze. The compound is so toxic that it can lead to permanent blindness and ultimately death cause by respiratory failure.
Hooch, which has come to denote illegal liquor, originally used to mean cheap whiskey. The problem in India should be seen in this context. About 40 per cent of the Indian population are not well off and thus a large section of people cannot afford to buy liquor from authorised shops. As such, they go for cheap liquor from bootleggers and end up consuming illicit liquor that often proves fatal.
It is usually the poor who are invariably the victims in hooch tragedies. This often comes as a double whammy with the tragedy claiming the life of the sole breadwinner of many of these poor families, which are already facing financial trouble. Besides, many workers spend a large part of their earnings on liquor in a bid to escape from the harsh realities of life. This makes life miserable for their wives and children, as it leaves only a paltry sum for the essentials. Cases of men beating up their wives and children after consuming liquor are also rampant. Men also beat up their working wives when they are denied money to buy liquor.
The situation has prompted civil society organisations to repeatedly express concern over the sale and consumption of illicit liquor. The organisations have held demonstrations and given memorandums to the government on the issue. Women’s organisations have been vocal about the menace of illicit and country liquor and have often demanded that prohibition be imposed.
One of the measures that can be taken to check this menace is education as this gives people the orientation that is likely to prevent them from becoming victims of such tragedies. The prices at which Indian Made Foreign Liquor is sold should also be brought down so that more and more people can purchase it and are not prompted to go after bootleggers. Another step could be employment generation as some of those who indulge in this trade do so as a means of livelihood. Quality checks should be done on all liquor sold, including country liquor, to ensure that they do not prove fatal to the consumers.
It is imperative that such measures are taken on a regular basis, as otherwise illicit liquor will flow freely and hooch deaths will continue to take place, tearing apart a section of the society already struggling to make their ends meet.
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