Kolkata:  In one home after another in West Bengal’s Sangrampur and neighbouring villages, wails of grief are heard as news of death keeps streaming in.

Less than a week after the major fire in Kolkata, at least 143 people have died after drinking illicit liquor in the state’s south 24 Paraganas district.

Most of the dead are the poorest of the poor like labourers, rickshaw-pullers and hawkers. They fell ill after consuming spurious liquor from several illegal joints on Tuesday night.

The widow of Shankar Mahato, a mason, is completely bereft. He was a loving father who was able to somehow make the ends meet. Now his family is suddenly left adrift, without its anchor.
“On waking up in the morning he said his body was quivering. I told him it could be because of stomach trouble. But he said it was because of the drinks. What was I to do? He said his eyesight was becoming foggy, and asked me to take him to the hospital. Then he said that all feeling was leaving his arms and legs. They took him away on a cycle to the nursing home where they said they couldn’t do anything. I asked the nurse to look at him quickly, but then he passed away,” said his wife.

Shankar is survived by three daughters and a son who is in class VII.

The post-mortem report suggest the deaths occurred due to methyl alcohol toxicity which led to respiratory and cardiac failure.

At least 350 more people are battling for their lives in several hospitals. Some have been taken to Kolkata which is about 50 kilometres away.

In the village of Borouran, at least eight homes have been bereaved. Families knew the menfolk drank illicit liquor but never imagine it would kill.

“I go to Kolkata every day to work and earn my living. On Wednesday morning when I left home, he was absolutely fine. I return by the 11 pm train every night. So when I came back, I saw he is dead. The culprits should be punished by death, the same way my husband has died. What will I do with my two children? I don’t have anybody else to work with me, what will we eat?” said Bishakha Bor, wife of Niranjan who was killed in the tragic incident.

Soon after the incident, area residents had smashed a liquor manufacturing unit at Mograhat and the joints from where it was being sold at Sangrampur. The villagers are angry because in Sangrampur, the illicit brew was selling right under the nose of the police.

Ten people have been arrested so far and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has ordered a CID probe. The police are now looking for the person who allegedly supplied the spurious liquor, Noor Islam Fakir, also known as Khora Badshan. The West Bengal government has also announced a compensation of Rs. 2 lakh each to the families of those who died.

In an interview to a Bengali news channel, she indirectly blamed the previous Left Front government in the state and said, “Illegal liquor business has been taking place for long in the state. When we try take action to stop this business, resistance comes from different quarters.”