Illicit liquor trade results in tragedy in Tamil Nadu

An important opposition leader in Tamil Nadu has demanded the resignation of Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister M K Stalin while attributing his moral responsibility for the unfortunate deaths of close to 20 people in Tamil Nadu recently due to hooch tragedy.

Edappadi K Palaniswami, the AIADMK’s General Secretary, rightly said that those untimely deaths could have been prevented if the Tamil Nadu government did take timely measures against brewing and sale of illicit liquor in the state.

The CM of Tamil Nadu had acknowledged that illicit liquor was being sold in Tamil Nadu in used liquor bottles of branded products. This reflects serious flaws in policy implementation.

Meanwhile, statewide crackdown on the illicit liquor mafia has been ordered by Tamil Nadu’s Director General of Police (DGP), Sylendra Babu. This includes measures to restrict the sale of methanol across all districts of Tamil Nadu. Methanol is an important ingredient in the production of counterfeit alcohol in Tamil Nadu. The crackdown has already yielded arrests and confiscation of spurious liquor.