A smashed hooch den in BNR colony. Picture by Amit Datta

A 2.5sq km pocket of the port area is the hooch hub of the city. Such is the concentration of illegal liquor shops in Jain Kunj, Coalberth and Hooghly Jute Mill and BNR colonies that residents could locate and damage at least 35 in the aftermath of the hooch deaths.

The belt is a short walk from West Port police station and the office of the deputy commissioner (port division). But “a crackdown is unlikely because the cops are hand in glove with the hooch sellers”, said a resident.

The narrow lanes winding past shanties that dot the area tell a story of illiteracy and poverty. The local MLA and NGO activists working in the area feel that underdevelopment is driving residents to hooch.

“We had destroyed the hooch dens but they were back in business within a few days. Those who sell contraband are making use of the illiteracy and poverty of the shanty-dwellers,” said Bablu Karim, who lives in the area and works for an NGO.

“There are more than 10 hooch shops in the Hooghly Jute Mill Colony. Many of the dead are from the 2,100 families that stay there,” he added.

Ram Pyare Ram, the MLA, was content to pass the buck. “I had done my duty by destroying the hooch dens twice in the past two years. It is the duty of the excise department to ensure that the dens do not crop up again,” he said.

He, too, pointed to the low literacy level in the area, which has only two higher secondary schools. The lack of awareness was evident in the fact that several residents, undeterred by Sunday morning’s tragedy, flocked to the hooch dens at night. Eleven were admitted to hospital on Monday. One of them, C.H. Walaiah, 55, died.

According to a hooch seller, the owner of each den has to pay policemen Rs 3,000 a month. Mozimbhai, who runs several shops, allegedly pays protection money of Rs 50,000 every month.The cops denied the allegations.

Most of the hooch sold in the area comes from Pailan, Mahabirtala and Bowbazar, said the hooch seller. On Monday, police seized bottles of branded liquor spiked with raw spirit and water.