The persistent problem of toxic liquor in Tamil Nadu Premium

The Tamil Nadu government does not seem to have learned lessons from the past hooch deaths

The hooch tragedy on June 18 at Kallakurichi in Tamil Nadu, which has claimed 59 lives so far, has caused major embarrassment to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led front, which has been celebrating its superlative performance in the Lok Sabha elections.

This is the second such tragedy in the last two years in the State. Just last year, 22 people died and 45 were hospitalised in Viluppuram and Chengalpattu districts after consuming toxic alcohol. This time, the death toll is much higher. So is the number of people who have been hospitalised (more than 150). Ironically, the government had informed the Assembly in 2023, before the deaths occurred, that there had been “no hooch tragedies in the State” in the last 14 years due to its “zero tolerance” policy towards blending units. Significantly, during 10 of those 14 years in question, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), now the principal Opposition party in the Assembly, was in power.

As was the case in 2023, action has been taken against police and other officials this time too. More than half a dozen people have been arrested so far. The victims predominantly belonged to Scheduled Castes and other vulnerable groups in society. Apart from announcing a solatium of ₹10 lakh each to the families of the deceased and ₹50,000 for those undergoing treatment, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has ordered the constitution of a one-man commission headed by Justice B. Gokuldas, a former High Court judge, to conduct an inquiry into the incident. The government has also offered to support the education of children in the villages affected by the tragedy. This is a change in approach by the DMK: in 1996, when people died after drinking contaminated liquor in Pudukottai, Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, Mr. Stalin’s father, ruled out compensation to the victims and their families arguing that it could be construed as encouragement for people following the wrong path.

Methanol has been cited as the cause of many such incidents, at least since 1990. When it was found to be the main reason for hooch tragedies in 2002, the liquid chemical was brought within the ambit of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act, 1937. Yet, it was once again cited as the cause of the 2023 incident, too.

The residents of Kallakurichi knew well that spurious liquor was being sold and consumed. It is hard to believe that the government was completely unaware of the prevalence and spread of the problem. It is said that products sold through the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) are priced higher than illicit liquor, which is why people prefer the latter. It is not yet known whether the Intelligence Wing of the police tipped the authorities of the likelihood of the May 2023 episode recurring. Leading a demonstration in Kallakurichi on June 24, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami claimed that his fellow legislator from the area, M. Senthilkumar, had not only tried to move a calling attention motion in the Assembly last year on this issue, but even alerted the police officer concerned, a few days before the tragedy occurred at Kallakurichi.

Data of the last three decades show that hooch tragedies have invariably occurred in north Tamil Nadu. In other words, they have taken place within a radius of 200-250 km from Chennai, the capital of the State. It is also pertinent to note that in the last 10 years or so, other southern States have not reported any comparable incident of this nature. On June 21, Mr. Stalin informed the Assembly that the methanol used at Kallakurichi to produce the hooch was brought from Puducherry.

While the whole incident requires deeper scrutiny, the Opposition has demanded that the Chief Minister resign and the case be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation. While hearing a petition filed by the AIADMK, the Madras High Court wondered whether any lessons had been learned from the previous incidents and any preventive action taken to avert them. The founder of the Naam Tamilar Katchi, Seeman, argued that instead of using the taxpayers’ money, the government should have made bootleggers pay the compensation.