The hooch tragedy in Tamil Nadu points to failures in policy and enforcement
Good governance is not only about keeping the routine going but also about anticipating obstacles and smoking out fault lines, preventing the loss of human life, at the very least. Over the last couple of days in Kallakurichi, in north Tamil Nadu, 39 people have died after consuming hooch laced with methanol. With others admitted in hospital in a critical condition, the toll might go up even further, rendering this one of the most devastating hooch tragedies in recent times. It is not as if the signs were not obvious, particularly after the hooch tragedy which claimed several lives in 2023 in Marakkanam and Madhuranthakam, also in north Tamil Nadu, where it was clear that industrial methanol was being diverted to the illicit brewing cottage industry. The relatives of those dead have spoken about the easy availability of cheap hooch in the region regularly, and that the cost of the local moonshine is much lower than the price of alcohol in the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited (TASMAC) shops. With irregular incomes as daily wage, fuelled by an aggressive price rise in liquor and fleecing at the TASMAC shops, regular drinkers gravitated towards the local brew. This trend is something that the Prohibition Enforcement Wing of the Tamil Nadu police is mandated to pick up, and act on. The State government has now taken action against district officials and instituted a one-man committee to inquire into the tragedy. The Chief Minister has also announced a solatium of ₹10 lakh each for the families of those who died, and a sum of ₹50,000 for those in hospital. The CB-CID has commenced investigation into the case.
Whatever is being done post-facto, is ultimately too little, too late. Methanol, also a form of alcohol, is added to moonshine to increase its strength. It is a potent poison, and even in very small quantities, can cause liver failure, blindness, and death. While various governments have shifted the State’s position on allowing or banning the brewing of arrack, one measure that seemed to have controlled deaths due to hooch after its introduction was selling low-cost liquor through TASMAC in 2002. That year, methanol was brought under the ambit of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act, and rules were amended to control methanol supply. However, in the light of Kallakurichi, it seems methanol flows freely. There can be no complacence about bringing the culprits to book. The government needs to shut down the small-scale industry of illicit brewing in the State, and should also expressly work towards increasing public health awareness on the inherent dangers of drinking hooch.