Hooch Tragedy: Malerkotla Admn looks to women, campaigners, and kiln owners to stop the supply of fake alcohol

Along with preventing the inflow of illicit liquor into the area, the Malerkotla administration has initiated a concerted effort to raise awareness about the dangers of consuming illegally prepared intoxicants in order to prevent another tragic event like the hooch tragedy in Sangrur district, which claimed over 20 lives.

lectures in slums and industries

Senior Excise Department employee Ajay Mittal stated that office holders of groups that support women, children, and labourers have been enlisted to help organise events that educate the public about the dangers of consuming alcohol that has been illegally prepared and sold at unlicensed establishments.
Police and civil administration personnel host Nukad meetings, workshops, and seminars in public spaces, industries, brick kilns, and slums.
In light of the impending Lok Sabha election, members of certain groups—such as social activists, women, proprietors, factory managers, and brick kiln owners—will be at the forefront of the battle against fake alcohol.

Nukad meetings, workshops, and seminars are being conducted by police and civil administration officials in public spaces, workplaces, brick kilns, and slums. Deputy Commissioner (DC) Pallavi and SSP Simrat Kaur are supervising these events.

Along with conducting car searches, City SHO Sukhpal Kaur stated that combined police and excise department teams were planning activities to raise awareness among certain worker and labourer groups about the dangers of drinking illegal and fake alcohol.

Senior Excise Department employee Ajay Mittal stated that office holders of groups that support women, children, and labourers have been enlisted to help organise events that educate the public about the dangers of consuming alcohol that has been illicitly prepared and sold at unlicensed establishments.

The Sangrur hooch catastrophe had shaken the area between the districts of Malerkotla and Ludhiana, mainly because of how close the epicentres of the tragedy were to one another and how freely vehicles, including public transit, could go there and back.

Although there has been a police crackdown on peddlers, the government is unwilling to take any risks by allowing hooch fraudsters to enter the area.

The tragedy was also duly noted by the Indian Election Commission, which on Saturday requested an expeditious interim report from the director general and chief secretary of Punjab.

DC Pallavi said that a concerted effort had been started to sensitise all stakeholders against the recurrence of any such disaster and that excise officers had been warned against any intake of illicit intoxicants long before the Sangrur tragedy.