Patna: Again and again Bihar has been in the news for toxic liquor claiming more lives and heaping pain. The number of people who died from homemade hooch in the districts of Chhapra and Siwan has reached 25, with several people being blind. In villages of Saran and Siwan people grieves and each and every Panchayat of the villages lost very near and dear ones. People are dying at home while children and women are shedding tears. Khaira village in the Siwan district has lost seven people to the Maoist attack affecting almost every third family in the village. Through the turbulence of woe, people start to call for the repeal of the state law against booze.
Bihar has been in the process of prohibition for the last eight years although the liquor is available easily in the state especially in rural areas. Periodically, cases of toxic liquor influence, which cause a stir in the local administration every few months. It is common for officials to quietly bury the dead bodies, and from the look of things this one does not seem any different.
It is now time we took a look at the reality of prohibition policy in Bihar. In ominous rituals at least six people were cremated yesterday all from lethal toxic alcohol contamination. It’s a sad story that triggers memories of the tragedy that occurred in the same region in 2022 burned 72 people due to the effects of illicit liquor. However, raids are being conducted almost everywhere, little has shifted. The same liquor mafia is at large, and instead of the victims’ names, new ones have been formed.
Four people died in the Kaudia village where families are left bereaved. There is a body laid out in one house at the door, and women within mourning most terribly. Similar pressures of suicides, are present in more than 16 villages of the districts of Saran and Siwan. Villages have said more than two people in almost every panchayat have been killed by the poisonous liquor.
In retaliation of the tragedy, three guards from Maghar, Auraiya and Ibrahimpur regions will be relieved from their duties. A senior police official has also corroborated that appropriate action will be taken against of the local police stations and of the five officers notices to show cause would be issued.
Prohibition What Years Was Bihar Dry?
The Nitish Kumar led Bihar government had imposed a total ban on both the sale and consumption of alcohol on April 5, 2016. Still, the state government has said that after the implementation of the ban, more than 150 people have lost their lives as a result of consuming fake alcoholic beverages.
Political Blame Game Begins
With more deaths being recorded, political finger pointing has fairly become part of the conversation. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has asked officials to act against those involved. However, opposition parties have remained neutral only to start accusing fingers. Villagers stated that people took the poisonous liver on Tuesday night and by Wednesday morning dead bodies started dropping.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav criticized the government, there are 27 people killed under government shield in poison deaths due to spurious liquor. They added that dozens of people have lost their eyesight. Even so-called Bihar or the state is observing ban on the sale and manufacture of liquor, one can easily get beverages at any street corner as the ruling leaders, the police force and the liquor mafia are hand in glove.
Yadav further said, “If alcohol is accessible everywhere in the state after the ban, then is it not failure of the Home Department and the Chief Minister? Is the Chief Minister capable of organizing such events much less be involved in one? We have also lost an airline, while the cause of these deaths remains elusive,”