Across the nation, especially in the Telugu states, many inhuman crimes trace their roots to the unchecked spread of alcohol addiction. In drunken stupor, people lose control over themselves and end up destroying their families. Just last February, in Telangana’s Choutuppal mandal, a man, heavily drunk, beat his 14-year-old son to death. The next month, another intoxicated man in Neredumetla murdered his own parents. In Kakinada district, a grandson killed his grandmother because she refused to give him money to drink. A few days ago, in East Godavari district, another drunkard stabbed his father in the neck with a beer bottle for telling him to quit drinking.
Alongside these monsters, there are countless others who, under the influence of alcohol, commit heinous acts of sexual violence against women. Many also drive after heavy drinking, causing endless horrific accidents. Despite such widespread social destruction, governments continue to treat liquor as their main source of revenue a shameful contradiction to the ideals of a welfare state.
What caused the Kurnool bus fire that killed 19 people, including small children..?? It was the recklessness of a drunken young man who rammed his bike into the highway divider at midnight. His fallen bike sparked a chain reaction that engulfed the bus in flames, burning dreams and lives to ashes.
Two years earlier, in Buldhana, Maharashtra, a similar bus tragedy killed 25 passengers the investigation found the driver was drunk. Such massacres occur all over India and the governments must bear primary responsibility. The Constitution entrusts the government with the duty to discourage intoxicants and build a healthy India a duty now ignored. Authorities allow liquor shops right beside roads and issue licenses for ‘belt shops’ in every village, turning peaceful communities into nests of alcoholics and ruining once green family lives. Today, many youth and adults, addicted to gutkha, tobacco, and liquor are destroying their own futures. Are not governments to blame for this..??
In the past 20 years, per capita alcohol consumption in India has doubled. The alcohol market value rose from ₹2.21 lakh crore in 2019 to ₹3.25 lakh crore today. According to the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh rank first and second in alcohol expenditure. In 2021, Indian governments together earned ₹2.4 lakh crore from liquor sales. But due to alcoholism reduced productivity, drunk-driving accidents and related losses the country loses an estimated ₹4.5 lakh crore annually. In poor rural families, alcohol devours about 15% of household income. Disguising themselves as welfare states, governments give benefits with one hand and rob the people’s pockets through liquor with the other.
If true welfare is their goal, they must commit to eradicating alcohol consumption and freeing India from the poisonous trap of intoxicants.