Victims Killed 143 People Become Death Miras

Calcutta, locally made liquor is allegedly mixed with highly toxic chemicals, methanol, killing 143 people in eastern India.

A number of hospitals in poor areas about 30 kilometers south of Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state, overwhelmed dealing with the victims, either unconsciously or stomach pain or chest was burning.Many of them were laborers or urban transport drivers who are too poor to buy liquor branded. They stop by the stalls of the manufacturer or buying illegal liquor (alcohol) after work on Tuesday.

"The death toll has reached 143 people," said West Bengal Chief Medical Officer Shyamapada Basak, adding that police had arrested 10 people during an investigation into the tragedy in South 24-Parganas District that.

More than 100 other victims are still hospitalized, including a boy aged 12 years, according to hospital authorities, apparently mistaking it for drinking alcohol."Miras consumed locally made a lot of people in India and is available in the area near the border with Bangladesh is at a price of only six rupees (approximately USD 0.2) for half a liter," said a local resident.

Methanol-type of alcohol used as anti-freeze or fuel were found in 20 bodies of victims are seen by a doctor, which led to the suspicion that the chemical is a cause of their deaths.

A small amount of methanol is sometimes added to the locally-made alcoholic drinks to increase the alcohol content. However, the material can result in blindness, liver damage, and death.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced the investigation proceeds and said the family of each victim will receive compensation of 200,000 rupees (approximately USD 33.8 million)."I want to take firm action against those who make and sell liquor illegally," Banerjee said in the local government television station in Kolkata on Thursday morning.

Angry residents stormed the places where the manufacture of alcohol in the village and protest. Report of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2004 states, abuse of alcohol is one of the major killer of young Indians, while a study funded by the Government of India in the same year found that 62.5 million people dependent on alcohol.

In July 2009, 43 people died from locally made liquor in the state of Gujarat, western India, which prohibits the sale of liquor. In May 2008, more than 168 people were killed in two southern states, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, because of similar cases.