NEWS
FREE BOOZE: ALCOHOL FLOWS FROM TAPS IN AN INDIAN RESIDENTIAL BLOCK
By Staff Reporter
12-2-2020
Credit: Siulan Law Mathews
Residents of an apartment block in Chalakudy village in India’s Southern Kerala State were shocked when they turned on their tap last Monday morning, instead of fresh water they got a brown liquid smells of alcohol.
When they contacted the local authorities, they were told that it was a mistake made by excise officials who had dumped around 6,000 litres of alcohol confiscated from a shut down bar next door into a pit dug adjacent to the apartment’s well.
When the soil wall separating the two dissolved, the booze rushed in, spoiling 20,000 litres of fresh water in the well.
The 18 families affected were left without fresh water supply, authorities said it could take up to a month for the well to be thoroughly cleaned up.
“We were so shocked,” Joshy Malyiekkal, owner of the apartment block, told BBC Hindi.
“Next to our apartment is the Rachana Bar. Six years ago, this bar was shut down and their liquor stock sealed by the excise department.”
“Now the department completed the formalities related to disposal of the liquor and officials poured all the sealed liquor into a pit they had dug up within the compound,” he said.
The authorities have taken steps to rectify their mistake, but the process of cleaning the well could take up to a month.
During that time, residents will have to rely on deliveries of clean water from the government, so far 5000 litres of water have been provided, which the residents said is not enough.
According to a local official who was interviewed by CNN, the disposed drinks were a mix of beer, brandy and rum. They had been kept in the bar since 2014 and had expired.
Unfortunately, he added, when excise officials dug a trench on the premises to dispose of the liquor, it seeped into the nearby well and polluted the water stream of the affected apartment block.
Kerala became a dry state in 2014 where the sale of alcohol was prohibited, but the rules were relaxed in 2017. The state is currently believed to have one of the highest levels of alcohol consumption in India.
(the writer can be contacted at: info@thewinechronicle.com)
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
**IF YOU THINK THE WINE CHRONICLE IS WORTH SUPPORTING, PLEASE MAKE A DONATION TO HELP US IMPROVE AND CONTINUE OUR WORK**
TRENDING│ FOCUS│ SERVICES│ ABOUT US│ CONTACT
| 