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Hospitals in Kolkata, India are struggling to manage a flow of patients relying on intravenous tubes and luck to survive. Their symptoms are identical: stomach ache, vomiting, and convulsions.

They were all poisoned by a batch of toxic alcohol that was sold cheap – and illegally – in the state of West Bengal.

So far about 170 people have died, some of them quickly but others wavered in and out of consciousness before succumbing. Nearly 200 are still being treated and most are in "critical condition" according to doctors. Supplies of medicine are running low. Among the dead and ailing are children who reportedly thought the liquor was water.

Sadly it has been a common problem in India for years. In 2008, more than a hundred people died of illicit alcohol in the state of Karnataka and dozens more in Tamil Nadu.

The same thing happened the following year in the western state of Gujarat. People and politicians were so incensed they pressured authorities to toughen laws against illegal distillers. As of this month, convicted suppliers face a penalty of death.

So why, in a country known for deadly drink, would people buy it? Regulation of the alcohol industry here means that most wine and spirits are priced beyond the means of most Indians.

"Hooch," on the other hand, can be bought on the streets for as little as 50 cents per plastic pouch. It is big business: Statistics show that two-thirds of the alcohol consumed in India is illegal. According to the Times of India, about 60 million Indians (5% of the country) are alcoholics. That is equal to the population of France.

The hidden distilleries use cane sugar and 'unknown herbs,' according to local new reports. Often, ingredients like methanol and ammonium nitrate are added to increase the ‘kick' and flavour. And that is where it all goes wrong.

• Read more about what goes into India's illicit liquor here

Methyl alcohol is commonly used for antifreeze. When ingested in small quantities a person can go blind. Larger amounts typically mean death and that is what has afflicted West Bengal.

Most of the dead are described as "labourers", men who are rickshaw pullers or "hawkers" without steady work so they take menial jobs from day to day to get by. Grieving families now also face the specter of survival without their sole breadwinners.

Police have already arrested some of those suspected of manufacturing and selling the toxic blend but the alleged ‘kingpin' of the so-called "Hooch Tragedy" is still at large.

@janisctv