They are already calling it the "widow village".

In the space of just a few short days, the close-knit community of Sangrampur in eastern India - along with a number of smaller surrounding villages - has been devastated by a case of mass poisoning from toxic, home-brewed alcohol.

So far 170 people have died, almost exclusively men, most of whom were the sole bread-winners in families that were already struggling with life on the poverty line.

"At the moment, it feels like all roads lead to the burial ground," said Abdul Mannan Gayen, who lost two sons and has a third battling for his life in hospital along with more than 100 other critically ill villagers.

In India, disasters - fires, flood, earthquakes, epidemics - often take their heaviest toll among the poor, who live in the most vulnerable, densely packed communities in poorly constructed, makeshift homes.

But the tragedy that struck the district around Sangrampur in West Bengal state was particularly narrow and devastating in its focus.

Illegal, home-distilled liquor, or "hooch", has been brewed in such places for decades, catering to an impoverished male clientele of laborers, farmers and rickshaw drivers unable to afford branded alcohol.

On Tuesday evening, the half-liter measures of hooch - costing as little as 10 US cents - were drunk and shared as they are most evenings.

By Wednesday morning, local hospitals were already struggling with the chronically sick and dying and the next few days saw the death toll rise inexorably from 50 to 100, to 150 and beyond.

Those who died, died painfully, wracked by cramps, vomiting and diarrhea - leaving behind wives and children who now face a perilous future.