KALLAKURICHI, June 24, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - The death toll from a batch of toxic

illegal alcohol in India had risen to 56, police said Monday, with 117 people
in hospital recovering from the deadly drink.

Last week, hundreds of people in Kallakurichi district in the southern state
of Tamil Nadu consumed a batch of locally made "arrack", which was laced with
methanol.

Hundreds of people die every year in India from cheap alcohol made in
backstreet distilleries, but this poisoning is one of the worst in recent
years.

To increase its potency, the liquor is often spiked with methanol, which can
cause blindness, liver damage and death.

Top district police official Rajat Chaturvedi told AFP that "56 people have
died so far and around 117 people are currently under medical treatment".

Political rivals in the state have blamed each other for the deaths, and the
site of the tragedy witnessed a protest by local opposition politicians
Monday.

Tamil Nadu is not a dry state, but liquor traded on the black market comes at
a lower price than alcohol sold legally.

Selling and consuming liquor is prohibited in several other parts of India,
further driving the thriving black market for potent and sometimes lethal
moonshine.

Last year, poisonous alcohol killed at least 27 people in one sitting in the
eastern Indian state of Bihar, while in 2022, at least 42 people died in
Gujarat.

Indian media reported that poor labourers in Kallakurichi district regularly
bought the liquor in plastic bags costing 60 rupees ($0.70), which they would
drink before work.

This batch, however, was devastating. Some people went blind, while others
collapsed in the street and died before they could make it to hospital.