Kerala hooch tragedy survivors are now ‘occasional drinkers’
says he went to one of the illegal toddy shops in the village frequented by lorry drivers at the time and had a few drinks
By : sham mohammed
Update: 2014-10-16 04:50 GMT
Kollam: They barely survived the hooch tragedy, which claimed 31 lives in Kalluvathukkal, a village near Parippally in Kollam, in 2000, but it has not put them off drinking forever and nor do they support the government’s move to ban liquor in the state, fearing it could only encourage production of spurious liquor and more hooch tragedies.
“We still like to have an occasional drink, but not from toddy shops. The government must provide good quality alcohol instead of banning it, as this will never work. Those who want to drink will always find ways to do it, ” says a former lorry driver, K.P. Sasi , who lost his best friends Sasi, Asokan, and Sankaran Kutty in the tragedy and partial sight in his own eyes.
Warning that the state could see more hooch tragedies if the government tried to stop people from drinking , he says the solution lies in making sure only good quality liqour is available in the state. Now 62, and suffering from various ailments, including shivers, since the hooch tragedy, Sasi depends on his wife who works in a nearby cashew factory and his son to make ends meet as he can no longer work .
Recalling the fateful day that he nearly lost his life, he says he went to one of the illegal toddy shops in the village frequented by lorry drivers at the time and had a few drinks.
“My friends and I went to thatha’s (Hyrunnissa, who was later prosecuted for the hooch tragedy) house where I had three glasses of liquor for Rs 20 a glass. I went home at around 9pm and took a bath while my wife, Chandrika made my dinner. But I was not able to eat and decided to go to bed. After a few hours of sleeplessness, I woke up to vomit and find darkness filling my eyes,” he recalls.