New Delhi: The hooch tragedy in Gujarat's Botad district adds to the ignominious list of deaths from consuming spurious liquor in India. The death toll is now 36 and counting in a state where alcohol is prohibited. It comes barely days after a similar tragedy took a dozen lives in West Bengal’s Howrah district. Earlier this year, consumption of spurious liquor during Holi celebrations claimed around 40 lives across Bihar, another state where alcohol is banned.
Hooch is made when ‘country alcohol’ or cheap distilled liquor (desi daru) is adulterated with industrial alcohol or methanol to increase its intoxicating potency. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data show that 6,172 people died between 2016 and 2020 due to the consumption of illicit hooch in India. This translates to more than three deaths every day.
Madhya Pradesh accounts for a fifth of India's hooch deaths
Madhya Pradesh alone accounts for a fifth of India’s hooch deaths, with 1,214 fatalities in the same period. This means, that two people die every three days in the state due to illicit hooch.
Madhya Pradesh is followed by Karnataka (909), Punjab (725), Chhattisgarh (505), and Haryana (476). Delhi recorded 94 deaths, Gujarat 50, and Bihar 21 during the same period.
Botad hooch tragedy is Gujarat's deadliest since 2009
The Botad incident is Gujarat’s deadliest hooch tragedy since the 2009 alcohol poisoning that claimed 136 lives. Primary investigations have revealed that some small-time bootleggers of different villages of Botad district had made spurious liquor by mixing water with methyl alcohol or methanol and sold it to villagers at Rs 20 per pouch.
The tragedy came to light on early Monday (July 25) morning when some people living in Rojid village in Botad and other surrounding villages were referred to government hospitals in the Barvala area and Botad towns after their health conditions started deteriorating.
Maharashtra, Goa, Ladakh, Lakshadweep reported zero deaths due to spurious liquor
According to NCRB data, Maharashtra, Goa, Ladakh, and Lakshadweep are the states and Union territories that have reported zero deaths due to consumption of spurious liquor. Several north-eastern states have also fared well on this front, with Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Nagaland recording one death each.
Overall, hooch deaths have been declining in the country since 2017, statistics show. India recorded 1,510 deaths in 2017; 1,365 in 2018; 1,296 in 2019; and 947 in 2020, the latest year for which data is available.
A breakup of the 2020 data shows 895 males and 52 females died after consuming spurious liquor.
Most deaths (427) have occurred among the 30-44 age group, while 11 minors also lost their lives.
Major hooch tragedies in India in the recent past
Widely considered Mumbai’s worst ever hooch tragedy, 106 people, mostly construction workers, sewage cleaners, and sweepers, died at a slum in Malvani after consuming poisonous alcohol in June 2015. Forensic analysis of the liquor revealed that it was pure methanol diluted with water.
Another hooch tragedy at Sangrampur in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district in 2011 claimed 172 lives.
In May 2008, around 180 people died in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu after consuming spurious liquor from illegal shops.
One of the main reasons why poor people opt for cheaper alternatives is heavy taxation on liquor in various states.
