It’s 7pm on Thursday, and the small cremation ground in Karunapuram Village, Kallakurichi, is overcrowded. The tragic deaths of more than 45 individuals in a hooch incident have forced these harrowing scenes upon the villagers.
With 22 pyres lined up and an intermittent drizzle threatening to extinguish the flames, the cremation ground is filled with grieving families. Young children orphaned, elderly parents left alone, widows, and wailing siblings are all struggling to come to terms with the collective grief of losing 47 lives.
On June 20, the news of deaths due to consuming illicit ‘packet arrack’ spread quickly. Families, in disbelief, rushed to the hospital, hoping the news wasn’t true. By Thursday evening, the death toll had climbed to 42 and reached 47 by Friday morning.
The tragedy’s gravity becomes even more apparent when one visits the narrow streets where over 10 deaths have occurred. The houses are tightly packed, just like the bodies of the deceased.
Three children, in particular, are in shock, their eyes dried out from crying. Both their parents died after consuming the illicit liquor. “When we returned from school, we were told our parents were unwell and were taken to the government hospital. Little did we realize that they had passed away while we were in school,” says 14-year-old Raghavan.
Their father was a painter, and their mother worked in construction. With their parents gone, there is no one left to pay rent or school fees.
Their grandmother tearfully recalls: “My daughter was suffering from stomach pain. She was having medical syrup. My son-in-law used to consume illicit arrack. On that fateful day, he consumed half of it and kept the remaining half. My daughter thought that was her medicine and drank it accidentally. Sometime later she raised alarm that she isn’t able to see anything and complained of stomach pain. When we rushed to the hospital, she was declared brought dead.”
Other residents of Karunapuram are similarly devastated. Several children lost one parent, while many families lost their breadwinners.
The bootlegger, Govindaraj alias Kannukutti, who was arrested, is also a resident of this village. His mother admitted while speaking to News18 that her son had been selling spurious liquor for the last year.
Many distraught families claim the local administration turned a blind eye and that spurious liquor had been sold for years without any action taken to stop it.
“The police officers are aware of the sale of arrack. They work hand-in-glove with the bootleggers. If the local administration says they were not aware of the sale of illicit liquor, they are lying. Every resident in Kallakuruchi knows about the consumption of hooch,” says 30-year-old Andal.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has formed a one-man committee headed by Justice B Gokuldas to investigate the incident and submit a report within three weeks. Stalin also announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those hospitalized.
The opposition has demanded that the ruling DMK take moral responsibility for the hooch tragedy. The AIADMK has called for Stalin’s resignation, while the BJP is demanding a CBI inquiry.
Speaking to News18, Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai said: “Why is CM Stalin sending his son? Shouldn’t he set up a camp here and monitor the situation? Why hasn’t he taken moral responsibility? We believe there is connivance between DMK party functionaries and those selling illicit liquor.”
Hooch tragedies are not uncommon in Tamil Nadu; a similar incident occurred just a year ago in Tanjavur district. Will the rising casualties in Kallakurichi finally prompt the government and local administrations to crack down on such operations across the state?