In February 2019, at least 168 people died after drinking toxic bootleg alcohol in

Golaghat Golaghat ( ''Gʊlaɡʱat'' ) one of the largest subdivisions of the Indian state of Assam, later elevated to the position of a full–fledged district headquarter on 5 October 1987, is a city and a municipality and the seat of administrative ...

and

Jorhat Jorhat ( ) is one of the important cities and a growing urban centre in the state of Assam in India. Etymology Jorhat ("jor" means twin and "hat" means market) means two hats or mandis - "Masorhaat" and "Sowkihat" which existed on the opposite ...

districts in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n state of

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

. The incident occurred two weeks after 100 people died by drinking toxic alcohol in the northern states of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

and

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

Incident

The poisonings first came to attention on 21 February 2019, when 42 people died shortly after drinking the illegal alcohol. Over the following days, more people died from the poisoning and many more were admitted to local hospitals. On 24 February 2019, it was reported that a total of 144 people had died and more than 300 were admitted in hospitals making it one of the deadliest alcohol poisonings in the country. The next day, the death toll had risen to 156. The incident occurred at tea plantations in the districts. Most of the victims were labourers in these plantations. They might have bought the liquor to drink after a day's work in the plantation.

Aftermath

Ten people have been detained for the incident. Assam Government has announced ex-gratia of 200,000 for the dead and 50,000 to those undergoing treatment. The Government is also planning to ban and seize all illicit liquor in the state. Chief Minister

Sarbananda Sonowal Sarbananda Sonowal ( Assamese: সৰ্বানন্দ সোণোৱাল / IPA: xɔɹbanɔndɔ xʊnʊwal; born 31 October 1962) is an Indian politician from Assam who is the current Cabinet Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and ...

has ordered probe over the incident.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Assam alcohol poisonings Alcohol-related deaths in India Disasters in Assam 2019 disasters in India Jorhat district Golaghat district February 2019 events in India 2010s in Assam

Incident

Aftermath

See also

References