Killer moonshine

The hospitals of West Bengal have been swamped by day laborers and rickshaw drivers who started falling ill on Tuesday after drinking adulterated alcohol that was bought at different illegal shops in the district of South 24 Parganas, some 50 kilometers away from the state capital Kolkata.

There are reports of half-conscious patients being treated on the floor because the hospitals are overcrowded and of new ambulances arriving with new patients complaining of chest and stomach pains.

Zamir Sardar told Reuters his 32-year-old uncle, Jahangir, a leather cutter, had passed away on Thursday after drinking alcohol late Wednesday afternoon.

Shyamapada Basak, health services director of West Bengal state told AFP that at least 170 people have now been confirmed dead and that there were another 145 patients in critical condition.

Chemicals raise alcohol content

Methanol, which is often used as anti-freeze or fuel, has reportedly been found in the organs of some of the dead victims examined by doctors.

Small quantities of chemicals are sometimes added to moonshine to increase the alcohol content, but this can cause blindness or liver damage. Cases of adulteration are recurring; according to the Indian Alcohol Policy Alliance, one to two people die every week from tainted liquor in India. In 2009, over 100 people died of a toxic brew.

Bootleg liquor is widely available all over India and is often drunk by those too poor to buy branded alcohol from licensed shops. It usually costs a third of the price of legal alcohol.

"Enforcement is very weak," Johnson Edayaranmulah from the Indian Alcohol Policy Alliance told AFP. "There is an unholy nexus between the authorities - police, excise, politicians - and the bootleggers."

Promises of strong action

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee addressed the state assembly, comparing the home-made liquor industry to "the proportions of a small-scale industry."

Though 12 people have been arrested over the scandal, West Bengal police additional director general, Surojit Kar Purokayastha told AFP, "we are now looking for Khonra Badsha, the kingpin of the racket involving the sale of illicit, spurious liquor in the district."

Banerjee has announced plans to compensate the families of the victims and has vowed to take strong action against the illegal liquor trade.

Meanwhile, furious villagers have taken to the streets to protest, even ransacking the illegal alcohol shops.

Author: Sarah Berning (Reuters, AFP, AP)
Editor: Arun Chowdhury