ONGOLE: If there is a once-in-five-year sales bonanza for liquor stores, it is clearly during the election season. Thanks to the gram panchayat elections, the four-phase polls on February 9, 13, 17 and 21 kept the wine shops busy. Despite the best efforts of officials to stop flow of liquor and money during gram panchayat elections, the liquor sales went up registering 18 per cent increase in sales compared to the corresponding period in last year.
The district excise department earned a revenue of Rs 90 crore from February 1 to 21 whereas it was Rs 76.59 crore during the same period in previous year. On an average, Rs 7 crore liquor was sold in the district during the election period.Besides liquor from neighbouring States Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, was also smuggled into the district by bootleggers, which is estimated to be around Rs 50 crore.
The sleuths of Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB) seized 1,739 litres of non-duty paid liquor. They have also set up three new check-posts to arrest flow of liquor from neighbouring States. The SEB officials arrested 159 persons, registered 225 cases and seized 32 vehicles used for illegal transportation of liquor.
Excise superintendent R Hanumantha Rao said that they have taken stern action against bootleggers. He thanked the police and SEB officials for supporting them in curbing flow of liquor from neighbouring States.