Tales of tragedy resound as illicit liquor thrives

Kallakurichi, Tamil Nadu: Adjacent to the court premises, stands a derelict concrete structure in Kallakurichi, a backward district, in northern Tamil Nadu. This building is 49-year-old Kannukuty’s domain. It is where he peddled illicit liquor that claimed 66 lives recently. 

“My 61-year-old husband, Subramani, was addicted to illicit liquor because it is cheaper and stronger than what is sold in liquor shops. On the morning of June 19, I saw him with three packets of illicit liquor, gulping them one by one. Within an hour, he complained of loss of eyesight and died later in the evening,” says 55-year-old Ayyamma, a resident of Kallakurichi.

Sold between June 18 and 19, the methanol-laced brew also left many blind, battling for survival. This tragedy, a grim reminder of past horrors, underscores the dangers of a thriving illegal alcohol market, enabled by rampant corruption and negligence in liquor regulation.  

For instance, though Kannukuty’s “shop” is just a few hundred metres from the court complex and the police station, the sale of illicit liquor continued until the tragedy. 

The hooch tragedy, one of the worst in recent Tamil Nadu history, was preceded by a similar incident that claimed the lives of 22 people in the neighbouring Villupuram and Chengalpattu districts last year.

Another resident of the town Rashitha Banu describes the ordeal. Her husband, Suresh, was the first to lose his life in this tragedy. “He returned late on June 18 and was restless the whole night. In the morning, he complained of chest discomfort, abdominal pain, and loss of vision. We rushed him to a private clinic, but he was already dead by then,” Banu says.

Like Subramani and Suresh, most victims were daily wage labourers, with an income of about Rs 300 to Rs 400 per day. 

“Many drink to forget the body ache after a day of heavy physical work. Most were addicted to illicit liquor as they could not afford to buy Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) from retail outlets. For them, the liquor sold by Kannukutty was cheaper and would give a ‘kick’,” says Pandu, a resident of Karunapuram.

Lack of regulatory checks, easy availability of toxic chemicals like methanol and rectified spirit, and a lack of awareness about the consequences of illicit liquor consumption are some reasons for continuing illicit liquor sales and subsequent deaths.

Hooch tragedies have claimed thousands of lives in the past decade across India. According to data from the Union Home Ministry, 947 people died after consuming illicit alcohol in 2020 and 782 people lost their lives in 2021. Gujarat has witnessed some of the worst hooch tragedies to date, with 46 people losing their lives in 2022, and 156 in 2019.

Such incidents are routine even in states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and Punjab that have liquor easily available. 

High demand for illicit liquor persists due to low costs compared to registered outlets. For instance, illicit alcohol can cost Rs 20 to Rs 60, while a quarter pint (180 ml) bottle in state-run TASMAC retail outlets costs Rs 130. In Andhra Pradesh, the cost for a quarter is Rs 140, Rs 130 in Kerala and Rs 50 to Rs 100 in Karnataka, depending on the quality.

In states like Gujarat, where prohibition is in place, hooch tragedies continue despite stringent punishments. The state government has amended the liquor law at least six times, the latest in 2016, making selling, consuming, and transporting liquor punishable by imprisonment up to ten years and a fine of Rs 5 lakh.

Tamil Nadu has also made several amendments to its prohibition act to toughen penalties for the brewing and selling of illicit liquor. Activists, however, point out that huge gaps in enforcement remain.

“Weak enforcement compounds the problem, as the inconsistent application of regulations across states makes monitoring and control challenging,” says Suriya Padmanaabhan, director of programmes at the Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade (TRACIT), which released a detailed study on the sale of illicit alcohol in India in 2023.

The TRACIT study identified that prohibition or restriction on sales, affordability, availability, weak regulations and enforcement, consumer awareness and perception were some reasons why illicit liquor had proliferated the market. 

Additionally, buying from TASMAC store could mean paying an additional Rs 10 or Rs 20. “It becomes necessary to charge extra from customers due to the expenditure incurred by the shop. Our job is very risky, and we are not compensated for broken bottles. The government does not pay for many things. Since the shopkeeper cannot incur expenses from his pocket, he is forced to put it on the customer,” a TASMAC employee says. This increased cost is also a deterrent for many people seeking out alcohol.   

Alcohol prohibition laws often penalise the poor, Suriya adds. For instance, Bihar has had a prohibition policy in place since 2016. “The rich can buy legal alcohol from other states and also find places to enjoy it without being caught. The poor turn to moonshine, and every few weeks, a group of men die. When the death toll is lower, few pay attention. Locals have become accustomed to it,” she adds. 

It is people from marginalised social and economic backgrounds who often suffer the consequences of consuming illicit liquor, says V Lakshmana Reddy, president of Jana Chaitanya Vedika, an organisation that has been advocating for a liquor ban in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. 

Revenue generation

Reddy says that state governments view the sale of liquor as a revenue-generating avenue and ignore the harm it causes to society. In 2023-24, Tamil Nadu earned Rs 45,855 crore in revenue from state-run liquor shops. In Andhra Pradesh, revenue from liquor sales, which was Rs 75,284 crore between 2014 and 2019, increased to Rs 1,24,312 crore between 2019 and 2024.

In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, regulated liquor outlets are sparse in rural areas, contributing to the increase of illicit liquor outlets, commonly referred to as 'belt shops,’ Reddy says.

State governments also often set targets for liquor sales from licensed stores. This can compound the problem, explains Raichur-based activist Abhay Kumar.

“The state government, which wants to increase its revenue, exerts pressure on licensed shops. Since the prices are quite high in such outlets, people knock on the doors of belt shops. The higher the targets set for the excise department, the greater the chance of illicit liquor becoming rampant in society,” Kumar tells DH.

The case of Tamil Nadu, which nationalised liquor sales in 2003, is peculiar as some activists believe that the presence of TASMAC stores, about 4,800 in number, has fuelled alcohol addiction.

“In Tamil Nadu, it is TASMAC that aids illicit liquor. From a revenue of Rs 3,800 crore in 2002 to Rs 45,000 crore in 2023-2024, the revenue of TASMAC has increased 13 times. It is the increase in consumption that is the problem here,” adds 

Jayaram Venkatesan, who runs Chennai-based Arappor Iyakkam, an anti-corruption NGO.  

A study conducted in 2015 found that one-third of men in surveyed households consumed alcohol every day. 

Taxation 

“When people who are addicted to alcohol do not have enough money to buy liquor from retail outlets, they go for cheap liquor available locally,” Venkatesan says.

However, the overregulation of alcohol sales also has the potential to drive illicit alcohol sales, says Suriya. The low density of shops and limited operational hours of government-run outlets create a significant inconvenience, fuelling demand for cheaper, unregulated alcohol, she says.

She stressed that affordability is a significant factor as consumers, especially those from lower-income groups, seek cheaper alternatives to legal alcohol. “High taxation on legal alcohol creates a substantial price gap, making it less affordable and pushing people towards cheaper, unregulated alternatives,” she adds.

In Kerala, the availability of illicit liquor became rampant after the state government imposed a ban on arrack in 1996. “Illicit liquor is still being rampantly sold after mixing with toddy across the state. Enforcement agencies have limitations in checking it mainly due to staff shortage and the clout of the industry,” an official with the Enforcement Department says.

Apart from the sale of illicit liquor or hooch, the resale of IMFL is also quite rampant in Kerala. Additional excise commissioner (enforcement) P M Pradeep tells DH that the instances of seizing hooch or illicit liquor have reduced.

“We are also observing an increase in the illegal sale of IMFL. This includes liquor smuggled from neighbouring states and even Goa, where the prices are much lower. The excise department's squads are regularly conducting surprise checks at toddy shops through which hooch used to be sold,” he says.

Increase in consumption

Activists and doctors warn that normalising the consumption of alcohol is a concern. “There is no inhibition towards drinking. People openly drink in public places and do not even listen to those advising them not to do so,” says Dr K Kamaraj, also a former MP from Kallakurichi.

In some villages, the sale of illicit liquor is almost institutionalised, with brewers arriving at an agreement with villagers and regulatory officials. 

“Only when there is a death or a major incident, do police come and raid. Otherwise, they usually turn a blind eye. The brewers give commissions to the councillors, police and officials of every department concerned. Once money is given to the village, no one is supposed to speak,” says Sumathi of Karunapuram.

Another problem that Kamaraj flags is political involvement. “Prohibition wings of state governments do file cases, but they are not able to completely control the brewing of illicit liquor. Political interference can be high if the person who brews illicit alcohol is associated with an influential political party,” he says.

In Telangana, mandhu kallu (medicine toddy) is common despite the use of harmful ingredients and the drink's intoxicating effects. “Since pure and natural toddy is expensive in the absence of a large number of palm trees, traders resort to mandhu kallu. For one litre of original toddy, traders add 99 litres of water and some chemicals. They sell it for as little as Rs 50 per bottle. Original toddy costs around Rs 150 to Rs 200,” Lakshmana adds.

Illicit liquor, when properly fermented and brewed, rarely causes instant death. However, the adulteration of such home brews with chemicals like methanol, which is cheap can cause death due to methanol poisoning. 

In Kallakurichi, the presence of methanol is believed to have led to many deaths.

“They resort to toxic chemicals when the proper brew is exhausted or sold out. Since the demand for illicit liquor was high that week, we were told that Kannukutty brewed illicit liquor in front of his customers and kept pouring methanol till it became strong. Methanol is easily available in the market,” a local in Kallakurichi says.

A senior bureaucrat tells DH that there was indeed a “huge demand” for cheap liquor among people across the country, but the governments cannot make a decision as they fear that they would be accused of encouraging alcoholism

Way forward

After the Kallakurichi incident, TASMAC is mulling the introduction of 90 ml liquor sachets, but the move is being vehemently opposed.  “The 90ml liquor will not solve the problem. Reducing the number of TASMAC shops, instituting deaddiction programmes and strict enforcement are the only ways forward,” Venkatesan says.

Tamil Nadu spends a mere Rs 5 crore on deaddiction facilities. “At least one percent of the revenue from liquor sales should be spent on deaddiction centres,” Venkatesan says.

While the calls for prohibition get shriller every time a hooch tragedy takes place, TRACIT’s Suriya says prohibition is not a solution, it is counterproductive to health, employment, and economic objectives. Citing the ban on alcohol sales during the Covid-19 pandemic in India, Suriya says the growth of illicit markets was observed after the initial ban on alcohol sales in India.

“Customs and police reported that consumers were turning to illegal liquor, and there was a marked increase in seizures of country liquor. In just the first 38 days, the Government Excise Department seized quantities of illicit alcohol almost equal to the amount seized during the whole of 2019,” adds Suriya.

There is a need for the Union Government to enable collaboration between state governments to establish a set of uniform regulatory standards for alcohol production, distribution and sale.

“Implement a centralised regulatory framework that states can adopt while allowing for some regional customisation to address specific local concerns. Raise awareness about illicit alcohol and related threats to health, safety and economic and social impacts among consumers,” she says.

Improving accessibility of legal products at affordable prices, increasing the density of legal outlets to stem demand for illicit products and incentivising local producers to legalise their production of artisanal products or home brews can also help, according to TRACIT.

(With inputs from Arjun Raghunath in Thiruvananthapuram, Pavan Kumar H in Hubballi, Satish Jha in Ahmedabad, and S N V Sudhir in Hyderabad)