Mounting hooch fatalities lead to boycott call
As the death toll from the hooch tragedy touches 100, political parties have called for a bandh and are demanding the resignation of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
FOLLOWING THE hooch tragedy in Ahmedabad, and Thursday's bandh called by political parties, the NSUI (National Students Union of India), which is backed by the state opposition Congress party, has called for a boycott on Friday. Colleges in Ahmedabad as well as some schools will remain closed on Friday, July 10. The tragedy which surfaced on Monday, has claimed the lives of 100 people while another 100 are receiving medical treatment. Most of the causalities were reported from areas in eastern Ahmedabad which has a large concentration of labourers.
It is being reported that the spurious liquor responsible for the deaths had been supplied by bootleggers located in Mehamdabad in Kheda district. Meanwhile, the Odhav and Viratnagar areas of Ahmedabad saw traffic interruptions resulting from gangs resorting to violence. Police have so far arrested 800 bootleggers and closed down 1200 liquor dens. The police have also arrested the illegal liquor kingpin Harishankar Kahar. The opposition Congress has asked that Chief Minister Modi take responsibility for the crisis and has called for his resignation.
Gujarat has been a 'dry' state since 1960, but though sale of liquor is banned, it is understood that the state has failed to completely wipe out the sale of liquor in the black market.
Gujarat has been a 'dry' state since 1960, but though sale of liquor is banned, it is understood that the state has failed to completely wipe out the sale of liquor in the black market.
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.The Modi government has decided to add more teeth to the prohibition law, making punishment more stringent for offenders, a move
contradictory to its earlier stand of relaxing the law to attract more investment and tourists to Gujarat and make the state more amenable to the cosmopolitan culture.
Well-placed sources in the chief minister's office said that the tragedy has made the government believe that "the current provisions in the state Prohibition Act as well as the Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act (PASA) are not tough to deal with the violators of the state's liquor laws, one reason why such tragedies happen."
After the hooch tragedy the government has also decided to ignore all previous hooch probe commissions which recommended that dry laws be relaxed.
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