Ever since the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC), which trades and sells the alcoholic beverages in the state, has closed the shutters of its outlets across the state as part of the statewide lockdown that has been imposed by the government to contain the spread of the Coronavirus, the men who are desperate to consume booze have been ending up to find the alternative in the absence of the liquor. 

However, the liquid of what they claim as the substitute for the alcohol has been claiming their lives and so far, the state has reported six deaths caused to the withdrawal of the alcohol while the death toll due to Coronavirus stands at five. In the shocking incident that was reported on Sunday, three men had died in Chengalpattu after they consumed varnish mixed with water as their alternative for liquor.

The deceased were identified as Sivashankar (33), Sivaraman (25), and Pradeep (25) and they were habitual drinkers. Sivaraman was a car driver and the other two were working as Pointsmen in Southern Railway and they were staying at the Chengalpattu Railway Staff quarters. On Sunday, they weren't able to buy alcohol since the outlets have been closed and they found varnish as an alternative and decided to mix the varnish with water and consumed it.

Moments after they took the unusual recipe, they vomited and stumbled in the spot. According to the reports, Sivaraman has died in the spot while the other two gone to the Chengalpattu government hospital where they had declared dead. This has been the second case that was reported exactly two days after the first such incident. 

On Friday, three men who belong to the Pudukottai district had consumed after-shaving lotion with the cold drinks as what they believed to be the substitute for the alcohol. However, of these three, two had passed away immediately while the third one remained critical and died on Saturday night. The District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) has issued advisories to the medical officers across the state with the mandatory protocols required to be followed while treating the people with symptoms of the alcohol withdrawal. The Chengalpattu police department had filed a case and investigating further.