Trio last living victims of ’82 hooch mishap
Natesan. (Photo: DC)
Kochi: There are still three of them the last living victims of the infamous Vypeen hooch tragedy of 1982, the biggest tragedy of its kind in the State. They still remember the horrifying days when people just dropped dead. Kuzhippilli native Natesan, Thekkumthala Sivadas of Ayyampilli and Elamkunnapuzha native Babu, all of them became victims while still in their prime. The three lost almost eighty per cent of their vision. But for the support of their relatives, they would have been living in the alleys of pitch darkness and starvation.
“I remember having received an assistance of Rs 4,000 from the then Government. Since then nobody cared to look at us. We had to wage a legal battle to get compensation, but that too became a tragedy with just Rs 1 lakh being awarded to 50 of us by the high court after we spent a lot of money fighting the cases,” said Sivadas who struggled to find his way to the chair.
The tragedy struck when all of them were in their mid-thirties. Babu and Sivadas chose not to get married after that while Natesan who already had four children, lived his life with the support of his wife and friends who set up a bunk shop for him. Natesan was a driver at an ice factory then while Babu was employed in a fishing boat. Sivadas was running a stationery shop. With their sight turning bad, all of them had to give up their jobs.
A total of 79 people died in the tragedy while almost an equal number were hospitalized as the toddy supplied to almost 20 shops in an area of 18 km, allegedly by contractors M.T.Chandrasenan and Vijayan, among others, turned their life topsy-turvy.
The affected places included Vypeen, Njarackal, Malippuram, Elamkunnapuzha, Puthuvype, Nayarambalam, Edavanakkad and Ayyampilli. The tragedy struck on Thiruvonam, on the evening of September 1.
Natesan has been getting a pension of Rs 1,000 allowed to the physically challenged, for the past three years owing to his poor vision. “We are thankful to advocate A.X.Varghese who helped us in our fight for compensation”, said Sivadas.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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