Spurious drinks kill, injure many people in Orissa

(February 09, 2012) At least 30 people have died and more than 55 others have been admitted to hospital in Orissa state after consuming drinks containing tainted illegal alcohol, hospital officials said on Thursday. An official at SCB Medical College in Orissa’s Cuttack district said the hospital has confirmed 24 deaths in the last 24 hours, with the death toll expected to rise. Local sources said the victims had consumed illegal alcoholic beverages from a shop in Mahidharpada on Monday evening. Archbishop John Barwa of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar cautioned that tainted alcohol was a recurring problem in the area. “Mushrooming liquor shops have claimed many lives in the state every year. The problem needs to be controlled immediately to safeguard the lives of the people.” However, district collector Girish SN said the deaths were caused by the consumption of spurious medicines high in alcohol content and not liquor, citing the seizure by authorities of cough syrup bottles from the shop alleged to have distributed the tainted beverages. Preliminary findings by state authorities suggest that the deaths and injuries were caused by ingesting tainted medicine, excise commissioner Sudarshan Nayak told local TV channels. The pharmaceutical laboratory suspected of producing the medicine has been closed for further investigation, and state officials have called for a judicial probe.