Ahmedabad: The hooch tragedy in Ahmedabad is growing bigger and bigger, as the number of dead has now risen to over 100. According to official figures, almost 207 people are in hospital.
On Thursday, mobs disrupted traffic in Odhav and Viratnagar areas of Ahmedabad.
Police suspect that as much as 1000 litres of spurious liquor was sourced from Mehamdabad in Kheda district by bootleggers.
The man-made disaster is fast taking political colours with the Congress alleging that a BJP councillor from Mehamdabad was the main supplier.
The consignment was reportedly distributed in the areas worst affected by the hooch tragedy.
Meanwhile, colleges in Ahmedabad are closed on Friday following a boycott call by Congress-backed student body NSUI. Some schools are also closed as a precautionary measure.
The Opposition is demanding Chief Minister Narendra Modi's resignation. Modi has also come under attack for choosing to remain silent for three days before making a statement.
In 1960 when Gujarat became a state it banned the sale of liquor in honour of the Mahatma. It could never effectively stop sale, instead created a huge and unaccountable black market.
Between 1977 and 1989 there were seven big hooch tragedies in which 500 people have died. The BJP blamed the ruling Congress for being ineffective.
However, this is not the lone hooch tragedy that has happened in the country in the recent past. Virtually every month, there are numbers of people dying after consuming spurious liquor. Here's a look at some of the recent hooch tragedies.
- June 2009: Eight die in Orissa's Bolangir
- May 2009: 170 die in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
- April-March 2009: Over 30 die in Delhi
- January 2009: 23 die in Kolkata