Three children of a family have been left bereaved after both their mother and father died following consumption of illicit liquor in Karunapuram village of Kallakurichi district in Tamil Nadu. The deceased were identified as 35-year-old Suresh, a painter, and his wife Vadivazhagi, who is a construction worker. Their family was unaware of the tragedy until night time and alleged that the doctors did not inform them about the couple’s death on time.
Suresh’s brother told TNM that the deceased had bought the liquor on Tuesday, June 18 from a funeral, where two deaths happened due to consumption of illicit liquor. “However, nobody was aware of the reason for the deaths. He drank the liquor and bought it home in a 7up bottle. His wife did not know. Upon returning from work, she drank the liquor from the bottle due to thirst and went to sleep,” he said.
While he was heading to his younger brother’s house, Suresh felt uneasiness and reported stomach ache among other issues. An ambulance reached the area and took him to a hospital. Later, his wife also felt the same health issues and was hospitalised. “Slowly more people started to get hospitalised and that’s when we knew about the tragedy. Around 7 pm, me and my uncle forcibly entered the room they were admitted in and realised that Suresh and Vadivazhagi had died,” the brother spoke to TNM.
Seeking an end to the illicit liquor sales in Kallakurichi, Suresh’s brother said that the incident could have easily been prevented if the police took action and doctors identified the problem initially when the two people died on Tuesday.
“Illicit liquor is being sold even behind courts and constables are taking bribes from the sellers. As far as Kallakurichi is concerned, no doctor asks about symptoms in detail but is quick to give a couple of medicines. The district collector dismissed our concerns by stating that they died of stomach ache. It is 100%, a lie. Everybody knew my brother used to drink alcohol. The administration thought a maximum of 3-4 people would die, but may not have expected these many deaths,” he added. The couple is survived by a daughter, who studies in Class 11 and two sons in classes 10 and 9.