Pall of gloom descends on Ekkiyarkuppam where 12 die after consuming spurious liquor

Of the 14 deaths which occurred after the consumption of spurious liquor, 12 are from Ekkiyarkuppam

Ekkiyarpuram, a non-descript coastal hamlet near Marakkanam in Villupuram district, remained in a pall of gloom on Tuesday waiting for the arrival of mortal remains of several locals who died after consuming spurious liquor on Saturday last. Of the 14 deaths reported in the last three days, 12 are from this village.

The feeling of helplessness was writ large on the faces of m village elders and women who were seen discussing the tragedy at the village centre.

“We tried to stop the supply of spurious liquor in the village and even lodged complaints to the local police. But, we have miserably failed. Most of the victims were the sole bread-winners of the family and the entire village has been destroyed due to spurious liquor,” said Sivakumar, 65, elder brother of Vijayan who is among the dead.

Heart-rending scenes were witnessed in many houses with the loss of bread winners.

Locals alleged that spurious liquor had been prevalent in the village for quite some time and the inhabitants slowly got addicted to the brew since they found it to be a cheap alternative to Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL). The tragedy came to light only on Saturday night after a few victims who had consumed the brew earlier in the day started complaining of dizziness, blurred vision, and vomiting.

“We immediately rushed the victims to hospitals on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday but their condition deteriorated and they succumbed one after the other,” says Manjini, another resident.

Four more held