Every time the killer brew wreaks havoc in Odisha, the government follows a repulsive, if not a sinister, pattern. Its event-centric postulation ends with ex-gratia for families of dead, some assurance of strict action and a judicial inquiry, as in the case of the present hooch tragedy that snuffed out 37 lives while many more are still battling at hospitals. Soon, it becomes business as usual and none, not the least those at the helm, learn a lesson.
Excise minister A U Singh Deo has resigned while health minister Prasanna Acharya is facing the heat. There have been conflicting views whether it was lethal brew with methyl mix or medicine laced with alcohol. Both the excise and health departments have been making convenient remarks to pass the buck. But the grim reality is staring the government in the face. How long, and how many judicial commissions will the government need to crack the whip to stop sale of illicit liquor? It is not known if the government has prepared an action taken report after the Justice Balakrishna Behera Commission probed the 1992 tragedy that claimed 132 lives in Cuttack, or after the Justice R K Patra Commission, in 2006.
Coming as it does in the heat and dust of panchayat elections, the Opposition Congress has lost no time in calling Deo’s resignation a poll gimmick. The truth is, no party has in the past demonstrated any willingness to break the powerful nexus that exists among liquor mafia, politicians and officialdom, including police. Deaths due to the killer brew are occurring at frightening regularity in Odisha. The high court which has sought a status report, had asked the government to act tough when a similar petition was filed last year after many died in Balangir district. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik must sense that his public posturing by way of ensuring the resignation of Deo is not the solution. He must act to prevent the recurrence of any such mishap instead of seeking an escape route through another judicial inquiry.