Adulterated toddy has turned into a health emergency in Telangana

Adulterated toddy has turned into a silent killer across Telangana. About 95 per cent of toddy sold in the state has dangerous sedatives such as alprazolam (Xanax), diazepam (Valium), and chlordiazepoxide (Librium), TOI reported quoting the police.

What has been now described as a "silent pandemic", the issue has been widespread despite Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda having few trees. However, these regions have more than 200 toddy shops. Even in districts such as Mahabubnagar, Medak, Nizamabad, Nirmal, Adilabad, and Kamareddy toddy shops outnumber toddy trees, which signifies adulteration and unchecked sale of spiked toddy, official told TOI.

There are over 5,000 toddy shops in Telangana and most have licenses for toddy tapping, but not for making or selling, officials told TOI.

Police called for immediate action and said that selling toddy laced with benzodiazepines is no less serious than trafficking narcotics as the NDPS Act treats both cocaine and benzodiazepines equally. The commercial quantity for both is 100 grams.

“Why is the govt not shutting down these toddy compounds selling adulterated liquor and playing with the lives of people?” asked a senior official, adding this should be treated as a medical emergency.

The problem is not novel. Even in 2023, the police had raided toddy shops to test 66 samples, where all turned out to be adulterated.

“On prima facie, the current case looks like adulteration with alprazolam. So was the incident, which resulted in over 100 getting hospitalised in Kamareddy last month. But the govt is still silent,” the official added.

Doctors treating patients addicted to adulterated toddy said that symptoms, including diarrhoea, are due to multiple substances in toddy.