Bhubaneswar, Aug 31: Excise Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan on Saturday informed that as many as 231 people died after consuming spurious liquor in Odisha in 27 years between 1992 and 2019.
In a written reply to a question of Congress MLA Nilamadhab Hikaka, the Minister told the state Assembly that the highest number of 134 people died after consuming hooch in Cuttack district in 1992.
He said 41 people of Tukulipada in the then Bhubaneswar and Cuttack district lost their lives after consuming spurious liquor in 2012.
The Minister further said that spurious liquor claimed 20 lives in Puri in 2001, 19 in Ganjam district in 2006, ten (three in Khurda and seven in Bolangir) in 2009 and seven in Bhadrak district in 2019.
A total of 433 country liquor (Mahua) shops are operating in Odisha and the government has collected Rs 227 crore in revenue from those outlets during the current financial year.
This is 9 per cent of the total revenue collected from liquor sales in the state, the Minister stated.
