MAHOTTARI, June 21: Two more persons have died after consuming locally produced alcohol in excessive amount in Mahottari district on Saturday night. With this, the death toll from alcohol consumption has reached five in the last two days.

Bandri Malik of Aurahi-3 and Salawari Devi Dom of Gaushala-7, who were critically ill after drinking alcohol on Saturday, breathed their last on Sunday night while undergoing treatment. Salawari was the wife of Panchu Malik, who died on Saturday night due to the same reason.

Salwari died while undergoing treatment in Dharan while Bandri breathed his last in course of treatment in Janakpur, according to their family sources.

On Saturday, Pancha Malik from Gaushala-7, and Rambrichya Mallik, 70, and Prakash Mallik, 40, from Sahasaula VDC-6 had died after consuming the liquor, according to the District Police Office (DPO), Mahottari. All the three deceased were relatives.

“We have confiscated alcohol from the local distillery where they consumed it for investigation. Further investigation regarding the incident is underway,” said Superintendent of Police (SP) Janak Bhattarai of the DPO.

There are over 100 pubs that offer alcohol in the district. Such pubs have been offering low-quality alcohol for years which have led to many such deaths. Yet, authorities have failed to solve the problem, according to locals.

“Failure of the district authorities to curb sale of such low quality alcohol is to blame for these five deaths,” said Suresh Pandey, a local politician. He also urged the authorities to take action against pubs operating illegally in the district.

 
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