Four alcoholics die after consuming hand sanitizers in Tirupati

TIRUPATI: In a tragic incident, four persons addicted to alcohol died after they consumed hand sanitizers instead of liquor in Tirupati on Friday.
According to family members, Venkatarathnam and Veeraiah (50), Srinivasulu and Kumaraswamy (30), all residents of Scavangers Colony in the city were alcoholics and consumed hand sanitizers instead of alcohol as they could not afford to buy even cheap liquor at exorbitant rates fixed by the state government.
The four persons who got into the habit of consuming hand sanitizers as an alternative to liquor which they no longer could afford to buy at the rates fixed by the government at the state run wine shops, fell sick after they consumed hand sanitizers yet again on Friday.
Though family members immediately rushed them to the SVRR government general hospital for treatment, the four of them died at the hospital on Friday.
Tirupati east police have registered a case and are further investigating.
The incidence of the poor dying because of consuming hand sanitizers as an alternative to alcohol has been on the rise in the state of Andhra Pradesh over the last few weeks.
While ten such deaths were reported in Prakasam district last week, one person died after consuming a hand sanitizer in Kadapa district three days ago. Similar deaths were also reported in Chittoor district this week, where again addicts are opting hand sanitizers as a cheaper option to get tizzy.
Though the police department and drug enforcement authorities have been carrying out special drives to sensitize people on the ill-effects of consuming hand sanitizers, the efforts are not yielding the desired results because it is the state government which has to find a real remedy to the issue.
Instead of conducting raids on street vendors and medical stores and creating a fear psychosis in their minds that is transforming into deterrents to sell hand sanitizers to the public at a point of time when Covid-19 pandemic is still alive, the state government should consider lowering the liquor prices, so that the addicts would stop choosing a hand sanitizer as a cheaper alternative to alcohol.
A medical store owner who didn't want to be named said, "Covid-19 pandemic is still alive and cases are going up everyday in Tirupati. We are selling hand sanitizers to the public to help protect themselves and their families from falling prey to the virus. Government should create awareness among the public that sanitizers should only be used externally for protection and not be consumed though it has alcohol content in it."