The Bihar government announced on Monday that it will compensate victims of the Hooch tragedy in Bihar’s East Champaran district. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar told reporters on the side-lines of his weekly ‘janata ke darbaar mein mukhya mantri’ that dependents of each victim of hooch tragedies in the state will receive Rs 4 lakh as compensation from the CM relief fund. He stated that letters had been sent to all district magistrates informing them of the government’s compensation decision. After gathering all information about the victims, compensation will be given to the affected families, he added. In April 2016, the main opposition party, the BJP, demanded an all-party meeting on the new prohibition policy, which would prohibit the sale and consumption of alcohol in Bihar. The list will be sent by the respective district DMs after they have verified the relevant documents.
Sushil Modi, a senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member, claimed that since the state was declared ‘dry,’ over 300 people have died in hooch tragedies and others have lost their vision due to the consumption of alleged spurious liquor. Former chief minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha patron Jitan Ram Manjhi also stated that the majority of the victims were from the lower socioeconomic classes. The poor were the worst victims of the new prohibition policy, he told the press. Since Friday, at least 30 people are suspected of dying as a result of consuming fake spirits. However, the district administration only reported 14 cases. Previously, the national human rights commission chastised the state government for concealing information about the deaths of hooch victims in the Saran district in December last year. According to official records, more than 43 people died.
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