Odisha Hooch Tragedy: BJD Fact Finding Team Visits Chikiti, Meets Victims’ Families

Berhampur: A Biju Janat Dal (BJD) fact-finding team visited Chikiti on Thursday and conducted verification and gathering of data accumulation relating to the recent spurious liquor tragedy in Ganjam district.

The team included MLA and former Ministers Niranjan Pujari and Usha Devi, former Berhampur MLA Bikram Panda, president of BJD’s Ganjam unit and former MLA Ramesh Chandra Chau Patnaik

The team met the family members of those who died and fell ill reportedly because of spurious liquor at Jenapur and Karbalua in Chikiti area. The members inquired from them about the health of the victims, source of the hooch which they consumed and others.

Family members of the victims claimed that the liquor was illicitly brewed in a forest near Bhalughai and sold in the nearby areas. Bootleggers mix pesticides and even battery powder with the spurious liquor, sources said.

At least 20 persons from Moundpur, Jenapur and Karabalua villages of Chikiti block fell ill after consuming country liquor from a local unlicensed shop on Monday evening. They were initially admitted to Chikiti community health centre (CHC) and 14 among them were later shifted to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur as their condition deteriorated.

The BJD had been demanding a probe by the RDC into the incident and resignation of the Excise Minister while pointing out that this was happening despite BJP’s manifesto promise of “Nisha Mukt Odisha”.

During Naveen Patnaik regime, Kalindi Behera and AU Singh Deo had immediately resigned as Ministers following hooch deaths, they asserted.

As the Mohan Majhi government has adopted a zero tolerance policy against illicit liquor, it formally announced a Revenue Divisional Commissioner-level (RDC) probe into the hooch tragedy.

However, the parody is that there is no RDC Southern Division in Berhampur since last July 25. R S Gopalan was in additional charge of RDC here for three months from April 25 to July 25. However, the state government has notified the name of Roopa Roshan Sahoo as the new RDC Southern Division and she is yet to take over the charge.