Chennai: The Hooch tragedy in Kallakurichi district, in which the death toll rose to 56 on Sunday, June 23, after people consumed methanol-mixed poisonous illicit liquor on June 19, has not only exposed the sale of the illicit liquor in the state, but also squashed the dreams and aspirations of several whose kins lost their lives in this heartrending case.
ETV Bharat reporter, Ravichandran visited Karunapuram and spoke to children of a couple who died in the tragedy. Suresh and Vadivukkarasi are survived by three children who are yet to come to terms with the deaths and have been mourning heavily, crying all day in pain.
The oldest among the three siblings is the 16-year-old daughter, who dreams of becoming an engineer. She could not gather herself to speak about the incident, with tears rolling down her cheeks. "My father Suresh, a daily wager lost his right hand in an accident a few years ago. Since then, he has been consuming alcohol frequently.
However, my mother Vadivukkarasi, never consumed liquour in her life. On the day of the incident, my father had bought two packets of liquor, drank one and poured the other in a tumbler (glass).
Meanwhile, he left to attend my grandmother's phone when my mother drank the liquid from the glass, thinking it to be ajjwain water as her stomach was aching since morning. Eventually, we lost both of them," she added.
The devastated teenager told, with the last ray of hope in her eyes, that the government has promised to cover her education fees along with that of her brothers, who study in standard IX and X respectively. The girl, through ETV Bharat's reportage, also made a plea to the government to build a permanent house for them.
