Day 1: Liquor fetches Telangana State record 100 crore

Day 1: Liquor fetches Telangana State record 100 crore
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An exalted consumer with his prized possession. Photo: Adula Krishna
Highlights

The impatient attitude of tipplers was witnessed in Telangana from dawn as they rushed to the liquor shops re-opened on Wednesday after a lockdown of 45 days. The police at many places had to send them back saying that the shops will not open before 10 am.

Hyderabad: The impatient attitude of tipplers was witnessed in Telangana from dawn as they rushed to the liquor shops re-opened on Wednesday after a lockdown of 45 days. The police at many places had to send them back saying that the shops will not open before 10 am.

But that did not deter them from forming serpentine queues from 7 am onwards and one of them told The Hans India that he came early as he wanted to get his stock and go home early. "We have been starved of it for 45 days," he said.


Some shop owners were even seen performing special prayers with coconuts and offered 'haarati' to the shops. The re-opening of the liquor shops raked in a record Rs 100 crore through sales on day one and by evening most of the shops had run out of stock.

According to officials, Greater Hyderabad alone got over 60 per cent of the revenues generated through liquor sales from 2,200 licensed liquor outlets across the state. But the shortage of workers to lift liquor stocks from the depots to wine shops has been a big hurdle to meet the growing demand for chilled beer.

Serpentine Queues near Liquor shops are seen in Hyderabad

While the Opposition parties have been criticising the government for opening the liquor shops, the officials feel that income form liquor sales would help the state in financial needs of the state. Revenue from liquor sales comes in instantly, while construction and other business activities will take some time to generate revenue.

Officials said 19 liquor depots spread across Telangana were full of liquor stocks. Nearly 17 lakh cases of whisky and 29 lakh cases of beer were stored in the depots which will meet the liquor demand for three days in the state.

The breweries and distilleries which have been permitted to resume beer and whiskey production from Wednesday were also struggling due to lack of work force. It required skilled workers to operate the machines which brew the malt. But only 30 per cent of the total work force was available to resume operations.

Considering the current crisis as an advantage, workers were also demanding more wages to attend to the duties, distillery officials said that it will take at least one week to resume the production to its full capacity.

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