I am Vikey, a BFSI employee since last 10 years. An MBA, earning decent and living happily with my wife & newly born daughter. On the other hand, my brother's life became so cheap in couple of months of unemployment, that it was lost because of country liquor/ alcohol addiction.

Please hear me out in the right context, its not one more story of alcohol addiction or something. And neither I'm here for any story telling or personal benefit, but am standing here for lakhs of patients and their families suffering for the very same reason. And we are talking about lakhs of families going through tough times across the country, where their health, wealth, happiness, all is at stake.

Here we are specifically talking about poor and lower middle class population, who doesn't have a sustainable source of income. I am sure you might have also observed the similar problem around you. Female workers/ labour class, house maids all are beaten by their husbands for money, to buy country liquor. The problem is constant, as country liquor prices are very reachable and ill effects are way beyond our imagination vis-a-vis standard IMFL spirits consumed by most of the modern society.

I lost my elder brother in Nov-2018. we were very close since childhood, till the time, distances made us apart. And as the time changes, work becomes our top priority. Everything was in flow till mid of 2016, when my brother decided to close his retail outlet and try something else. And he gave up so badly after trying 3 different ventures, that none of the people around could bring his morale back.

So it started from unemployment, went to daily IMFL consumption (Foreign liquor). Then switching to country liquor for saving money and country liquor is so strong that once you get used to it, IMFL won't work. And Country liquor is an unstandardized, uncontrolled, non-regulated thing, generally made by local people. Heard them of mixing hospital spirits, that are applied for cleaning  before injections, to make country liquor storng.

I know, in our modern society, alcohol is a inseparable part, copied from western culture. But atleast widely popular IMFL drinks are made under standard processes and quality control. Also it doesn't fit in common man pockets as an everyday, unlimited kind of thing. I am observing a lot of people who are consuming IMFL drinks/foreign liquor on a daily basis, since years & years. But there are no visible health issues till now, although there might be harmful effects in the long run. But its not like country liquor or say Desi Daaru which took my brother in less than 3 years. And it was not only my brother, but old parents who don't want to leave their native place, and my brother's wife, his 3 little kids - born together & suffering together, only at the age of 13. For What..? How much one can do for them? Won't they understand one day, what's the worth of life in our country or say a family's lifeline rather. 

Its rare to see such incidents around upper/ middle class people like us. But it's quite visible in lower income groups, backward classes, unemployed & illiterate part of population, rural areas and the list go on. Visit any public hospital's Gastro ward, its always full. I have seen extra mattresses placed there for patients who are suffering from liver disease because of same Desi Daaru. Even in public hospitals, treatment has other heavy costs involved. We being from middle class were able to provide good treatment to my brother for around a year. But finally, we lost him.

Will it be possible for every such person to afford good treatment ? Are we ok, to bear such high social costs for this dirty business?

Raise your voice if you connect, if you see any such person suffering around you, or stand for the victim's family. Hating them is not the way to get rid of this problem, addiction doesn't know reasoning. Let us do away with Country Liquor, to start with. 

" DESI DAARU BAND "