ANUPAMA KATAKAM in Ahmedabad
The July 7 hooch tragedy has drawn attention to Gujarat’s worst-kept secret: that alcohol is freely available in the State.
PHOTOGRAPHS: JANAK PATEL
More than 150 people died after drinking spurious liquor in Ahmedabad in July. Here, one of the victims in hospital on July 7.
ON July 7, Gujarat woke up to witness its worst ever hooch tragedy. During the course of the previous night and in the early hours of that morning, hundreds of men and women had been rushed to two government hospitals in Ahmedabad, with complaints of loss of eyesight, vomiting and unbearable pain in the stomach. In spite of the doctors’ best efforts, not many of them survived.
During the week, more than 159 people died after drinking spurious alcohol supplied by one of the many bootleggers who operate in Ahmedabad. Approximately 230 people are still in hospital.
“We do get cases of alcohol poisoning, but I have never seen such large numbers or anything like this before. They were dropping like flies. We just did not have enough time to treat them as the substance was so potent and lethal,” said a doctor who was at the scene but prefers not to be named.
The tragedy that unfolded in Ahmedabad has again brought into focus the debate on prohibition. Does banning alcohol really benefit people? It is Gujarat’s worst-kept secret that any type of alcohol – “country” or “English” – is freely available. Would it not be safer to legalise the process and reduce the likelihood of these terrible incidents? Or does the ban work as some form of deterrent and hence help in reducing ugly incidents that occur under the influence of alcohol?
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