Deadly high: How hooch shattered a hamlet in Tamil Nadu

It Began With A Bootlegger’s ‘Buy One Get One Free’ Offer And Ended With 13 Dead In The Worst Case Of Arrack Poisoning In Recent Times
The coastal hamlet of Ekkiyar Kuppam has been in mourning for the past week. None of the fishermen who live here have ventured into the sea. Wails rend the air as you enter the village.
Thirteen people have died here since Saturday after consuming spurious liquor, in what is being termed one of the worst hooch tragedies in recent times. More than 56 have fallen severely ill and are admitted to hospitals in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

“Three men complained of nausea after consuming liquor on Saturday night. We rushed them to a hospital, but when they died on Sunday morning, we began tracing people who had drunk the same hooch and rushed them to hospitals,” says M Sivakumar, brother of one of the victims.
He says bootleggers, who were active in the village near Marakkanam in Villupuram for more than a decade, advertised an offer of ‘buy one packet of arrack get one free’ and ‘buy four packets of arrack for ₹100’ (a packet costs ₹40) last week after finding the hooch they had procured was pale yellow instead of colourless.
Several of the villagers blamed the district officials including police for the hooch tragedy, some of them alleging that the illicit arrack seized by the prohibition enforcement wing during raids and routine vehicle checks are stored in stations and sold to the bootleggers. “Sometimes, the liquor sold to the bootleggers by the police is more than six months old and stored in unhygienic conditions,” says D Arumugam, 28, a resident of Ekkiyar Kuppam.
“When I lodged a complaint with the police about bootleggers, they took a couple of them to the station for inquiry. Later, the same bootleggers called and threatened me,” says a fisherman on condition of anonymity. “Whenever police launch a crackdown, politicians intervene and help bootleggers. That’s why the bootleggers switch loyalties to whichever party is in power. ”
A former DSP (prohibition enforcement wing), who served earlier in Villupuram district, says the hooch business runs parallel to the government-run Tasmac, yielding hundreds of crores of rupees. “The only solution is for the police to undertake raids and destroy the dens of bootleggers every week,” he says.
The main hooch suppliers usually distill liquor in the hilly regions of the district as these areas are relatively inaccessible. Some smuggle liquor from Puducherry, where the sale of arrack is legal. Some smuggle arrack distilled illegally in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. A few suppliers add methanol to increase the drink’s potency and dilute the liquor for higher profits.
They fill them in 250ml bottles procured from Tasmac shops and sell them at a huge profit margin. They also sell the liquor packed in sachets of 100ml, 200ml and 500ml. “When too much methanol is used, the liquor becomes fatal,” says the DSP.
The villagers opt for illicit arrack as the nearest Tasmac shop is 5km away in Marakanam or 20km away at Kanagachettikulam, on the border of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. “Arrack is cheaper so the villagers prefer it. With the fishing ban in force, fishermen who venture into the sea on small boats every day around 2am return around 11am with a small catch. The catch fetches them between ₹200 and ₹1,000. Most spend it on hooch,” says Raja Durai, a fisherman.
“Doctors say consumption of around 10ml to 20ml can lead to blindness. Anything more can lead to organ failure,” says state health minister Ma Subramanian.
Doctors say there are reports of animal carcasses (rodents and lizards), fecal matter, batteries and barbed wire being added to hooch, which increase the health risks. In some cases, police have reported the use of oil drums and containers previously used for storing chemicals.