Desk/SS
By drinking illegally produced local alcohol or “deshi liquor”, that was extremely toxic, people of Assam started to get sick and then died. The death mounts to 150 till now, in accordance with the reports from three hospitals in this eastern part of the state. On Saturday, it was 87 and the other 200 were hospitalized. But on Tuesday, the number of death jumps to 150. So, it is considered as the second tragedy of this month for the country.
Assam’s health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “We have still more than 170 people admitted in hospitals with new patients being brought in from nearby areas. Some developed complications two days after consuming the liquor,”. He also added, “We have sent samples for forensic examinations to ascertain the ingredients used in that particular lot of spurious liquor that led to the deaths of so many people,”.
In India, illegally produced alcohol is known as “hooch” or “country liquor” which are very common as people cannot afford branded Alcohol. In Assam, the liquor production and consumption is found in the state’s tea plantations where poorly-paid laborers were assigned to consume those liquor.
Mrinal Saikia, a local lawmaker from the Bharatiya Janata Party, said that there were about 10 different distilleries producing the spurious liquor that went to various tea plantations and other areas. But the main ingredient used in the country liquor was supplied by one person from a nearby area.
He also added, “Close to about 1,500 people must have consumed that lot of spurious liquor on Thursday that led to the deaths of 150”. He ended saying, “We are interrogating them and will soon find out the source and people involved in supplying that toxic lot of spirit”. For this incident, Police have arrested 16 people already