Killer moonshine: On the hooch tragedy in Kallakurichi
Good governance is not only about keeping the routine going but also about anticipating obstacles and smoking out fault lines, preventing the loss of human life, at the very least. Over the last couple of days in Kallakurichi, in north Tamil Nadu, 39 people have died after consuming hooch laced with methanol. With others admitted in hospital in a critical condition, the toll might go up even further, rendering this one of the most devastating hooch tragedies in recent times. It is not as if the signs were not obvious, particularly after the hooch tragedy which claimed several lives in 2023 in Marakkanam and Madhuranthakam, also in north Tamil Nadu, where it was clear that industrial methanol was being diverted to the illicit brewing cottage industry. The relatives of those dead have spo...