Amravati. In the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, 18 people have died due to consumption of spurious liquor during the last one week. Two people died in Jangareddygudem town on Saturday, taking the death toll to 18 while officials of various departments were carrying out investigations. According to officials, a man, identified as Anil, died in a hospital in the early hours of Saturday, while hours later Upendra, a native of Odisha, succumbed to his injuries at the Jangareddygudem Government Hospital.
The condition of another person, Varadaraju, is said to be critical. He is undergoing treatment at the Government Hospital in Guntur.
Meanwhile, officials of Revenue, Police, Excise, Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB), Medical and Health Department are probing the cause of deaths. As part of the investigation, the teams were collecting details by visiting the houses of the victims.
Nagalakshmi, (whose husband Appa Rao (46) died three days ago) filed a police complaint. He alleged that he died due to the consumption of poisonous arrack. Police has started investigation on his complaint.
West Godavari Superintendent of Police Rahul Sarma visited the city on Friday and gathered information.
The families of the victims claimed that they died due to consumption of spurious country liquor. Victims complained of dizziness, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhoea, just hours after consuming the alcohol. The age of the victims was between 35 and 65 years.
However, officials said that preliminary investigation suggests that he died due to different reasons. He was suspected to be suffering from health problems like cardiac ailments and post-Covid complications. However, a detailed investigation is being done to find out the reasons.
Locals say that illegal sale of liquor is high in Jangareddygudem and surrounding areas.
Meanwhile, the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has blamed the state government for the deaths.
TDP’s women’s wing Telugu women’s president Vangalpudi Anita demanded that the YSRCP government take immediate steps to save lives by stopping the sale of illicit liquor, ganja and country arrack.
Anita alleged that from village volunteers to MPs and MLAs, all ruling YSRCP leaders are carrying out activities of illegally selling arrack and ganja. He asked how can Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy play the role of a spectator when so many people are losing their lives.
The TDP leader expressed concern that cheap liquor is proving to be very harmful and has a huge impact on the health and life of the people who consume it.
Anita cautioned the Chief Minister against the delay in taking action against the Ganja and Liquor gangs. He said that if women start revolting against the YSRCP regime, it will have dire consequences.
—AnyTV News
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