Illegal belt shops fleece customers

Yellareddy: Without a single wine shop in the town, the sales of belt shops, located near national highway, have picked up as the liquor lovers have no choice except to visit belt shops.

Though tenders were cleared by the Excise department 20 days ago, not a single wine shop has been set up in the village.

Though the officials have identified two or three suitable places to open wine shops in the town, the liquor traders were not interested in setting up the shops there. Meanwhile, the liquor addicts are forced to shell down anything between Rs 50 to Rs 75 on each bottle to purchase liquor.

It may be recalled that the Supreme Court had prohibited establishing wine shops from a radius of 250 meters from the national highway. The locals resent police inaction to rein in the activities of belt shops in the village.