When liquor came out from kitchen taps in Kerala town

By Sandeep Thomas

THRISSUR: Wishing wells may exist only in folklore, but one in Kerala almost proved a tippler’s wildest fantasy come true.

It all started when residents of Solomon’s Avenue apartment complex in Chalakudy town of Thrissur district noticed brownish water with an unmistakable smell gushing out of their kitchen taps a couple of days ago.


Turns out the sober, dependable neighbourhood well had overnight turned into a watering hole — literally — and started serving up a cocktail of beer, brandy and rum through kitchen taps.

The mystery was solved after some residents approached the municipality authorities, who traced the “hiccup” to an excise department operation in the area a few days earlier. The excise team had apparently dumped more than 4,500 litres of seized liquor into a pit, unaware that most of it would flow into a nearby well that is the main source of potable water for Solomon’s Avenue residents.

Joshy Maliyekkal, who was among the first to spot brownish water coming out of taps, said he initially suspected a rusting pipe had something to do with it.

“I had barely switched on my water pump to fill the overhead tank on Sunday afternoon when the sight of the water got me really scared. And the smell was unmistakable and the taste confirmed that someone mixed copious amounts of alcohol with the water,” Maliyekkal said.

When all 18 families living in the complex had the same experience as Joshy, they decided to contact the Chalakudy municipality.

Dy excise chief says ‘booze well’ cleaned
Ward councillor VJ Joji told TOI on Wednesday that alternative water-supply arrangements had been made for the affected families.

“These families had been using water from the contaminated well for several years. It was their only water source,” he said. Deputy excise commissioner TK Sanu said the well had been “cleaned” at least eight times already to remove all traces of liquor in the water. “Till the water becomes completely clean, we will provide drinking water to the affected families.”

According to Sanu, the excise department had decided to “destroy” the seized liquor because storing the bottles had become a challenge. “These bottles had been seized from bars whose licenses had been cancelled six years ago. We couldn't have known that our operation would raise such a stink,” he said.