Hooch sales have resumed in earnest in Calcutta, nine months after at least 40 people died drinking spurious liquor.

From roadside dens in Kidderpore and Mahestala, the business has shifted to shanties along the railway tracks in the Sealdah division.

According to police, several hooch sellers are operating from huts along the railway tracks at Dhakuria, Park Circus, Kankurgachhi and Patipukur.

“We have resumed our business because there are fewer raids nowadays. But the supply is erratic, so prices have gone up,” said Bapi Mondol, a hooch seller.

Metro saw pouches of hooch and bottles of country liquor being sold at Panchanantala in Dhakuria, Park Circus and Kankurgachhi and buyers drinking in the open near the tracks. The rate was Rs 10 per pouch and Rs 60 for a bottle.

Bapi, Ganesh, Bhola, Kaloda were some of the hooch sellers in the area, said shanty dwellers along the tracks. Near Sealdah, Mashir Thek was the most popular.

At Panchanantala and Park Circus, drugs and ganja were being sold along with hooch.

“Most of our customers are poor. They smoke ganja sitting near the tracks. We also supply to students and youths,” said Raju, a peddler. Metro spotted him hiding his stock in a deserted single-storey house along the tracks near the Dhakuria flyover.

Residents accused the cops of laxity. “The police had started raiding liquor dens and arresting sellers earlier this year. Hooch sale had stopped and the traders had gone underground. They have resurfaced. The authorities are perhaps waiting for another tragedy before taking action,” said Soumitra Dutta, a resident of Kankurgachhi and a member of an NGO.

Calcutta police passed the buck to Government Railway Police (GRP). “We often alert the GRP, but in most cases they fail to track the criminals. Our officers raided a number of places and destroyed several hooch dens,” said police chief Gautam Mohan Chakrabarti.

The GRP also had its excuse ready. “We often conduct raids but hooch sellers generally see us moving along the tracks towards them and flee. I will ask my officers to be more alert and conduct more raids,” said Dilip Mitra, the additional director general of police (railways).