1992 Orissa liquor deaths
Encyclopedia
The 1992 Orissa liquor deaths took place in May 1992 in Cuttack
, Orissa
State, India
. More than 200 people died after drinking illegally brewed poison
ous liquor; another 600 people were hospitalised. It was one of the biggest tragedies of its kind in India.
Since the tragedy, several women's organisations in the state have demanded total prohibition
on the sale and manufacture of liquor. The state government imposed a ban on alcohol in 1994; however, the Indian National Congress
government that came to power in 1995 lifted prohibition on the ground that it was causing huge losses in revenue. In 2000, the police arrested liquor kingpin Surendranath Das, alias Belu, in the case.
Cuttack
Cuttack is the former capital of the state of Orissa, India. It is the headquarters of Cuttack district and is located about 20 km to the north east of Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa. The name of the city is an anglicised form of Kataka that literally means The Fort, a reference to the...
, Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
State, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. More than 200 people died after drinking illegally brewed poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
ous liquor; another 600 people were hospitalised. It was one of the biggest tragedies of its kind in India.
Since the tragedy, several women's organisations in the state have demanded total prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
on the sale and manufacture of liquor. The state government imposed a ban on alcohol in 1994; however, the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
government that came to power in 1995 lifted prohibition on the ground that it was causing huge losses in revenue. In 2000, the police arrested liquor kingpin Surendranath Das, alias Belu, in the case.