India Lost 3 People In Every Two Days Due To Illegally Distilled Liquor In 2020

India is one of the fastest-growing economies as far as the liquor trade is concerned. Many Indian states like Gujarat, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland had banned the sales of alcohol. In contrast, in some states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Delhi and Kerala, the respective state government controlled the sale of alcohol.

The COVID-induced lockdown led to the closure of bars and restaurants, thus giving rise to illegal liquor trade practices. In 2020, India lost three people every two days to illegally distilled liquor. Moreover, 947 people died from the consumption of illicit liquor, which included 52 women and 895 men.

States With Highest Deaths Due To Liquor

According to the data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 931 incidents of consumption of illicit or spurious liquor caused 947 deaths in the country during 2020. States where various such deaths were reported to include Madhya Pradesh (214), followed by Jharkhand (139 deaths), Punjab (133 deaths), Karnataka (99 deaths) and Chhattisgarh (67 deaths).

Most Vulnerable Age-Groups

Amongst several age groups, people between 30 to 45 years accounted for maximum deaths due to the consumption of spurious liquor. The second most prone age group prone to extinction because of liquor consumption was 45 to 59 years, under which 237 men and 22 women lost their lives. Nonetheless, the number has significantly decreased from 1296 in 2019 to 947 in the succeeding year.

Since the health pandemic crippled the world, several states have reported unrecorded liquor trade. For instance, the Police in Himachal has uncovered a Rs 200 to 250 crore trade of illegal and illicit liquor transacted through a well-organized racket spread through districts viz Mandi, Kangra Kullu, Sirmaur, Shimla - the capital city - Bilaspur, Una and Solan. Similar incidents were reported in South India.

Analysts feel that the government should develop some concrete policies to deal with such social issues. They also urged the government to implement a strategy whereby people involved in this business were offered alternate employment opportunities.

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