The illegal alcohol - commonly called desi daroo or country-made liquor in India - is called cholai in West Bengal and it usually costs as little as 10 rupees (20 US cents) and the majority of the consumers are poor, daily-wage workers.

BBC: India doctors fight to save West Bengal alcohol victims

Nabanna: Networking Rural Women and Knowledge (Baduria, North 24 Parganas District, West Bengal, India) uses grassroots processes to build information-sharing networks among low-income, rural women.

UNESCO: Communication and Information

Perhaps most worrying, with the exception of Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, the worst-affected states are also among India's least capable.

ECONOMIST: India��s Naxalite insurgency