(COLOMBO) – Three persons died on Monday after consuming cheap illicit liquor at a village in Southern Sri Lanka, police and hospital officials said on Tuesday.
They said the incident took place in Kalutara some 43 kilometres from the commercial capital of Colombo.
The victims were between the ages of 43 and 48, according to the officials.
Hundreds of thousands of tipplers in the island-nation have been forced to consume illegal alcohol owing to the ever-increasing prices of regulated alcohol products.
The illicit hooch known locally as ‘kasippu’ or rot gut, is sometimes brewed in most unhygienic and dangerous conditions, and in certain cases harmful substances such as agro-chemicals and even cement is being used to hasten the seasoning process, according to officials.
Recent surveys have indicated that some 65 percent or even more alcohol users in Sri Lanka have been forced to throw caution to the wind and consume the local illegal brew.
There have also been calls from a cross-section of the political divide and others to immediately scale down the prices of regulated alcohol products so that it could reach the poor man at an affordable price.
Officials with the Excise Department have repeatedly warned that there has been a drastic drop in alcohol sale in recent months and as a result they are unable to reach the tax target sought by the Government.
Tax revenue from the Excise Department is needed to pay the salaries of a large percentage of State workers that include police and security force personnel.
