Excise, Health in blame game

BHUBANESWAR: Two departments of the State Government are now at loggerheads over the liquor tragedy that has claimed 33 lives and left scores hospitalised. Both Excise and Health departments are now busy passing the buck to the other. The Drug Testing Laboratory’s report that there was methanol in one of the samples neither spares the Excise Department nor absolves the Drug Control administration completely. The Excise Department had sent three samples to the testing lab. One was seized by Excise sleuths of Cuttack from the house of Baidhar Bhoi, the vendor who died after consuming the brew. Another sample was collected by Excise officials of Khurda. The third one was seized by police from the factory of Eastern India Pharmaceutical Laboratory which is the manufacturer of Epeecarm, Concentrated Cinnamon and Orange Tincture. The sample, drawn by Cuttack wing of Excise, tested for methyl alcohol (methanol) whereas the other two did not. What is important, the bottle, seized by Excise sleuths of Cuttack, was made of plastic while the other two that tested negative for methyl alcohol were made of glass. Were duplicates of the brands in circulation? The seizure report of the Excise officials is crucial as it clearly says that the bottles contained ‘spirits with strong odour’.  Official sources said there is a strong possibility that spurious brands were being circulated with methanol composition which claimed the lives. The vendor Baidhar consumed what he sold indicates that he would not have done that had he been aware of the content.“Since ethanol and methanol both come under the control of Excise Department, there is no way it could exonerate itself,” said a Health Department official. Besides, not all victims purchased their drink from the medicine stores indicates that it was sold in open. The Health officials said a bona fide manufacturer would not use industrial alcohol (methanol) in place of rectified spirit (ethanol) when s/he is aware of the deadly effect. The difference in prices of ethanol and methanol is not huge to prompt anyone to use the latter. However, the Excise sources pointed a finger at Health officials saying the compositions were being sold as medicinal solutions which means Drug Control officials should have intelligence on such spurious items. That some victims claimed they had purchased the digestive solutions from drug stores says these should have come under scanner of drug inspectors. The Health officials said it is the responsibility of police and Excise officials to ascertain where were the spurious items being manufactured and circulated because before the solutions were released, they were certified. The Commissionerate Police, which raided the Eastern India Pharmaceutical Laboratory, has not proceeded beyond the drug overdose theory and could trace the root of the problem, the Health officials added.