Flood-displaced settlements at risk from “toxic liquor”

Residents of Uttargaya Rural Municipality-1 in Rasuwa, displaced by the Bhotekoshi flood and living temporarily in Nuwakot, now face the added danger of “toxic” homemade liquor.

Police have launched a crackdown after the sale and distribution of illicit liquor made from inedible ingredients increased in and around the displaced settlements.

About 2,000 displaced people have been living temporarily for the past month and a half at four locations in Bidur Municipality-5: Badachautaro, Rattakali Basic School in Pipaltar, Majhitar Dandagaun, and Postbahadur Bogati Park. Police stepped up enforcement in recent days after toxic homemade liquor was found in abundance in and around these settlements.

Nuwakot police say they seized about 1,000 litres of illicit liquor in a single operation. Deputy Superintendent of Police Iqbal Hawari, spokesperson for the District Police Office, said the liquor was seized. At the same time, it was being produced and sold, with the displaced settlements as its target.

“The liquor we recovered was found to be extremely toxic,” he said. “Police seized it after finding that it was being produced and sold illegally, for commercial gain, to people in a settlement that is vulnerable in every respect, including their health.”

According to police, the seized liquor was made using urea fertiliser, old sandals and shoes, rotting carcasses of dead animals, and other inedible materials. Spokesperson Hawari said the liquor was destroyed after completing the necessary procedures.

Locals say the sale, distribution, and consumption of such liquor could worsen social ills in the settlements, lead to criminal incidents, and even endanger the lives of those who drink it.

Bam Bahadur Tamang, former ward chair of Uttargaya Rural Municipality-1, said those displaced, many of whom lost relatives and family members in the flood, need psychosocial counselling and other treatment. But he said a growing tendency toward heavy drinking in this situation is putting their lives at risk as well.

“Because of those who sell and distribute toxic liquor, there is a growing danger that people who are grieving the loss of relatives and family in the flood will drink excessively and even lose their lives,” Tamang said. “After seeing toxic homemade liquor being openly consumed, I turned to the police for help in controlling it.”

According to Tamang, the flood-displaced families are grieving the loss of relatives on one hand and facing various hardships in their temporary accommodation on the other.

Displaced by the earthquake, uprooted again by the flood

After the 2015 earthquake, residents of the former Haku VDC in Rasuwa were displaced when they could no longer live in their village. They had been living in the Khalte area next to Betrawati. But the Bhotekoshi flood of August 26 displaced them from there as well.

According to the details received, 315 people from the 344 displaced families of Uttargaya Rural Municipality-1 were lost in the flood. The same records say that 495 people from Uttargaya Rural Municipality-1 alone were either killed or are missing.

For residents suffering a double displacement, controlling the production and sale of toxic liquor has become another challenge, alongside safe shelter, health services, and psychosocial support.

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