Dry day ups sale of liquor in black in Telangana

The last two weeks have been a major eye sore for liquor guzzlers with more and more dry days over the week ends. Last week, it was polling for MLC seats, Ugadi and this week it was counting and Ramanavami over the week end.

If you thought All this has cut liquor consumption in the city, then you are mistaken. Liquor bottles are being sold in bulk at a premium of price with over 50% profit margin through several belt shops and illegal joints of the operators for their regular customers.

Bar and wine shop owners are cursing the holidays during the last two weeks for reducing their sales and reaching targets in the year end with the TS government hell bent on cancelling licenses for those who do not meet the targets of liquor sales.

TS government considers Hyderabad as the biggest source of liquor revenue and almost a five days holidays in last ten days has cost loss of liquor sale of Rs.300 crore, say some excise officials. The TS govt plans to raise the liquor sales and also the revenue to the state from Rs.11000 crore in the current year to almost Rs.16,000 crore in the excise year of 2015-16