Insidious network, demand for cheap liquor: The making of a hooch tragedy in Bihar

In Bihar's Masrakh, a liquor tragedy led to 39 deaths after locals consumed industrial alcohol mixed with urea, highlighting ongoing prohibition challenges.

Masrakh is halfway between a city and a hamlet. The area sits at a tri-junction of highways, connecting Gopalganj, Siwan and Champaran, making it a node in western Bihar. In the British era, people from the impoverished hinterland flocked to Masrakh in search for jobs at factories that produced anything between iron, sugar and toffees. Today, the factories are shut but abandoned sprawling campuses and brick kilns dotting the dusty landscape provide just the ideal setting for the liquor seekers.

People being treated in a hospital in Saran, Bihar, after they consumed suspected spurious liquor last Wednesday. (PTI)