Chandigarh, May 15 -- Even as Punjab reels under yet another hooch tragedy - this time claiming 23 lives, so far, in Majithia area of Amritsar, what emerges is a grim truth the state can no longer ignore - the deadly concoction of methanol-laced spurious liquor continues to be a popular choice among the state's poor.
Despite 176 deaths linked to hooch consumption in the past five years, the fatal brew is still in demand, fueled by poverty, sky-high prices of licensed liquor, government apathy, and a nexus of corruption that allows the illicit trade to thrive.
The economics of intoxication is stacked heavily against the poor in Punjab. A bottle of beer costs not less than Rs 200, Punjab Medium Liquor (PML) begins at Rs 275, and even the lo...