Beer and brandy gushes from kitchen taps, shocking apartment building residents

Families astonished to find alcohol pouring out of taps

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It sounds like something of a dream: turning on the tap and booze flowing out.

For one Indian apartment block, this became reality on Monday after dumped liquor flowed into an open well and made its way into the water supply.

Residents living at the complex in the town of Chalakudy, Kerala, were astonished to find the mixture of water, beer, brandy and rum coming through their taps.

Investigation into the cause of the free-flowing alcohol found that excise officials had disposed of some 6,000 litres of beer and spirits into a pit next to the apartment’s well the previous day.

The soil wall separating the two had dissolved, resulting in the booze entering the water system. Some 20,000 litres of fresh water were spoiled as a result.

Joshy Malliyekkal, the building’s own, said: “Next to our apartment is the Rachana Bar. Six years ago, this bar was shut down and their liquor stock sealed by the excise department. Now, the department completed the formalities related to disposal of the liquor and officials poured all the sealed liquor into a pit they had dug up within the compound.”

He added: “We use water from the well for cooking, drinking, bathing and everything else. At 4am on Monday, our neighbours who have school-going children rang us up and said that water from the taps smelt bad. The mother was getting ready to cook for the children when she noticed the smelly water.”

The residents,18 families, were left without fresh water for almost 24 hours, reported The News Minute website.

TK Sanu, deputy excise commissioner in the region, said officials had been unaware of the open well when they disposed of the booze.

He said: “It was just 2,000 bottles, so they decided to dispose it off by digging a pit. As per the official orders, while disposing it, the officer should take care not to cause any harm to the environment and the public.”

It is not clear if any laws have been broken under Indian environmental legislation.