Alcohol poisoning in India has led to the deaths of 100 people due to illegally made liquor. Officials have arrested four suspects who are believed to be linked to the deaths. This illegal liquor, otherwise known as "hootch" or "country liquor", is bought by people who can't afford name-brand alcohol. People are demanded compensation- wives without husbands should get jobs, children should get free education, and culprits should be punished. This is the worst outbreak of illegal booze in years, and police have arrested thousands of people and seized thousands of liters of hooch. It's especially bad during wedding season, which is right now for this region in India. One of the components that makes up this illegal booze is methanol. Methanol is highly poisonous, and less than 1 ounce can be deadly for adults. Luckily, methanol poisoning can be treated.
This article is about deadly alcohol, but the topic that should be discussed is the cause. The article barely touches on it, mentioning that people buy it due to being unable to afford name-brand liquor. Therefore, it is quite likely that most or all of the victims are in the underpaid lower class, which explains why giant protests have erupted, demanding compensation. Families are unable to live when they have lost someone who increased their income. Without help, families will begin to crumble as kids can't go to school and necessities can't be paid for. In the Roaring Twenties, homeade alcohol was also popular once prohibition laws were put into place. This "home brew", made by "moonshiners", could cause blindness and death, just like the alcohol that's being produced in India.
https://www.npr.org/2019/02/11/693516595/bootleg-liquor-kills-100-in-indias-worst-outbreak-in-years
It is such an absolute tragedy that people are so desperate for a drink of some sort of alcohol, that they are willing to potentially risk their lives and, in that, forsake their families, just like they did in the 1920s with prohibition. I hope that the families of the victims receive compensation, as that is well needed for the wellbeing of the country as a whole.
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