At least 86 people have died in a few days after consuming excessive methanol-laced adulterated liquor in India’s Punjab province. Police raided more than 100 places on Saturday and seized alcohol and arrested 25 people. These wines are made by the roadside or locally.
Many of these illegal wines are made together. They are then sold illegally to small shops on the side of the road to local residents. Many get sick when they pour it. Many of whom no longer have the opportunity to survive. Many recovered with hospital treatment.
In India, adulterated liquor is available in ordinary villages or remote areas rather than approved liquor. And the number of deaths due to drinking alcohol is higher in rural areas.
Manufacturers of adulterated wine occasionally mix methanol into these wines. It is a highly toxic form of alcohol that is sometimes used as an anti-freeze in alcohol blends to increase its potency. If eaten in small amounts, methanol can cause blindness, liver failure and death.