At least 29 people have died after consuming spurious liquor in Tamil Nadu’s Kallakurichi district, 250 kms north of Chennai. The number is expected to increase further as 21 more people are still undergoing treatment.
As many as 50 people from Karunapuram colony who consumed illicit liquor were admitted to the Kallakurichi government hospital in the wee hours of Wednesday after they complained of vision and hearing loss, severe stomach pain and vomiting.
They were rushed to the Kallakurichi government hospital on Wednesday for treatment.
With the Assembly session in place, the government swung into serious damage control mode. District collector Sravan Kumar Jatavath was shunted out and the district SP Samay Singh Meena was placed under suspension. M S Prasath has now been moved to Kallakurichi to replace Jatavath while Rajat Chaturvedi will be the new SP.
Senior ministers EV Velu and Ma Subramanian, on instructions of Chief Minister M K Stalin, rushed to Kallakurichi to meet the victims' families and ensure medical help. Specialised medical teams have also been rushed to the Kallakurichi government hospital while a few of the patients have been shifted to nearby hospitals in Salem, Tiruvannamalai and Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) in Puducherry.
Blood samples of the victims have also been sent to the forensic labs in JIPMER and other institutes for further analysis. Sources in the health department said others undergoing treatment are being strictly monitored by the specialised medical teams and measures are being taken to bring them back to life.
Most of the 50 men who consumed the spurious liquor were daily wage labourers who had brought it from a local liquor seller Govindraj. Govindraj has been arrested. Around 200 litres of liquor was recovered from him. On analysis, the lab reports suggest that methanol was added to the liquor which led to the tragedy.
The families of the victims allege that the government did not take action to control the availability of illicit liquor in the region despite the information. Incidentally, Kallakurichi and the neighbouring districts in north Tamil Nadu are notorious for spurious liquor as there is a huge demand for cheap liquor and arrack in this region. The incident comes just a year after 22 people died during the twin hooch tragedies at Villupuram and Chengalpattu districts in north Tamil Nadu.
AIADMK general secretary and opposition leader Edappadi K Palanisami are all set to visit Kallakurichi to meet the victims' families. Condemning the DMK government for not taking action to control the supply of illicit liquor in the state, Palanisami said, "I have been saying that illicit liquor was rampant during DMK’s rule. I strongly condemn the DMK government for not taking any action to eliminate illicit liquor even after so many lives have already been lost due to it.
The BJP has demanded the resignation of S Muthusamy, the Minister for Prohibition and Excise. In a statement, BJP state unit president K Annamalai said, "there is zero accountability in the DMK government and ministers do not fear consequences for posing for pictures with illicit liquor sellers."