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Bengal hooch tragedy toll 121, victims mostly poor
Thursday December 15, 2011 05:25:37 PM,
IANS
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Diamond Harbour (West Bengal): One of the worst ever hooch tragedies in India continued
to unfold Thursday, leaving 121 people dead and over 100 in
hospitals, as more victims - mostly rickshawpullers, labourers and
hawkers - reported sick after consuming hooch in a village.
The victims, who had Tuesday night visited some illegal liquor
dens near Sangrampur railway station in the village by the same
name in South 24 Parganas district, were mostly from the poorest
sections of society.
"So far 121 people have died," district police superintendent L.N.
Meena told IANS over phone.
Sangrampur falls under the Diamond Harbour subdivisional
headquarter.
Seven people have been arrested for supplying moonshine in the
area. Most victims belonged to Usthi, Mandirbazar and Magrahat
areas.
Official sources said more people have been admitted to hospitals
since Wednesday evening. Patients were coming in even Thursday
morning and the toll was likely to rise, they said.
The victims were mostly in a Diamond Harbour hospital, some were
admitted in neighbouring areas while yet some were even brought to
Kolkata for treatment.
The chemical mixed in the liquor has not yet been identified, said
district magistrate N.S. Nigam.
The opposition Left Front has decided to take out a condolence
rally from Sangrampur railway station Thursday.
A health official said the victims died of cardio-respiratory
failure due to methyl poisoning.
Those taken ill have been admitted to the Diamond Harbour
Hospital, health centres and nursing homes. Some have been shifted
to Kolkata.
"From around 2 a.m. Wednesday, people started vomiting, had loose
motions and complained of serious stomach pain," said a Sangrampur
resident.
Locals said quite a few people died outside the hospital as well.
The state government has announced a compensation of Rs.2 lakh
each to the families of those who died.
This is one of the worst liquor tragedies in India. Earlier in
1992, over 200 people had died in Orissa after consuming spurious
liquor. In 2009, a similar incident in Gujarat left 136 dead.
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