The residence that functioned as a retail outlet, selling hooch, to the residents of Karunapuram
| Photo Credit: Kumar SS
Five days after one of the worst-ever hooch tragedies hit Kallakurichi in north Tamil Nadu, in which 58 persons have died so far, Karunapuram, the epicentre of the tragedy, is still haunted by the memories of the night of June 18, 2024.
Flex boards with obituaries of the victims have been put up in front of a number of houses in the locality, while police personnel stand guard outside a residence which, until June 18, functioned round-the-clock as a retail outlet supplying the poisonous brew to the residents.
“People in the area started falling ill and were rushed to the Government Kallakurichi Medical College Hospital on the morning of June 19. I had no idea what was happening. I lost consciousness and was soon rushed to the hospital from where I was referred to Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (Jipmer) in Puducherry,” recounts M. Sathya, 27 one of the survivors.
Ms. Sathya was among the five persons who were discharged from Jipmer on Sunday.
M. Sathya, 27, a survivor of the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy at her house in Karunapuram on Monday, June 24, 2024
| Photo Credit:
KUMAR SS
Recalling the tragic day, Ms. Sathya, a mother of two, said she had been addicted to liquor from a young age. “Once, my father’s friend had come home and I consumed a small portion of the brew left by them in a glass. Subsequently, I became addicted. Initially, I stopped drinking following the birth of my two children but then I started drinking again,” she says.
On the night of June 18, Ms. Sathya and her sibling Vandana, a transperson consumed the brew purchased from the bootlegger Kannukutty alias Govindaraj in the locality. Govindaraj has since been arrested.
Once the symptoms started began, both of them were rushed to the Government Kallakurichi Medical College and then referred to Jipmer. Ms. Vandana was discharged on June 24.
“I am fortunate to be alive today and it seems like a re-birth. The doctors at Jipmer extended the best treatment possible, and I am grateful to them. I never expected to meet my family again. I will never consume liquor again,” Ms. Sathya said, with tears welling up in her eyes.
Another survivor Paramasivam, 54, said that he had no idea that he had consumed poisonous brew. He regularly consumed the same hooch bought from Kannukutty, and had consumed four pouches of the methanol-infused hooch on the night of June 18.
Paramasivam, a survivor, at his house in Karunapuram on Monday, June 24, 2024
| Photo Credit:
KUMAR SS
“I went home, practically unconscious, and slept. When I woke up in the morning, I felt giddiness and pain in the abdomen. I immediately went again to Kannukutty’s joint at 5.30 a.m. and bought another pouch of the hooch and consumed it,” says Mr Paramasivam. He started vomiting after getting to his house and was rushed to the Government Kallakurichi Medical College and then referred to Jipmer.
Mr. Paramasivam, who worked as a loader in the vegetable market in the town, says many of his friends who also worked as loaders and daily wagers were not as lucky as him. “Though my condition has improved, I am experiencing difficulty in vision and numbness on my body. I never knew that the brew everyone consumed in the locality could be poisonous. Many of my friends have died in the tragedy leaving behind their families. It was an experience I may never forget. Such an incident should never recur,” he says.
Saradha, a daily wager lost her husband Murugan in the tragedy. Recalling the incident, she says her husband was at home after consuming the brew on June 18.
“On Wednesday, I was leaving for work when I accidentally drank a glass of the brew. Though it tasted different I didn’t realise it was contaminated,” she said.
After the couple started experiencing symptoms, both were rushed to hospital. While Murugan died enroute, Ms. Saradha was admitted to Jipmer and discharged on Sunday, June 23.
“I was told that he had succumbed but I couldn’t see him that one last time alive since I was undergoing treatment. The government has announced compensation for the victims. But I need a job to ensure a stable future for my two children,” Ms Saradha said.
Murugan, a survivor with his family at his house in Karunapuram in Kallakurichi on Monday, June 24, 2024
| Photo Credit:
KUMAR SS
Murugan, 58, another survivor said the outlet operated by Kannukutty functioned round-the-clock and both men and women used to buy sachets of the brew and consume them regularly.
“The joint functioned in full public view. Though some of the residents had approached officials to complain many times, no action was taken. There should be no more sale of liquor in Karunapuram,” he said, adding that his recovery was like a rebirth.
