VIJAYAWADA: More elite shops (walk-in liquor stores) will come up in the urban areas of the State. Officials of the Andhra Pradesh State Beverages Corporation Limited (APSBCL) are now on a hunt for the required space in the urban areas for setting up elite shops. As of now, there are 24 liquor marts in various cities and towns of the State and the officials are planning to increase the number.Though the officials initially planned to set up 100 liquor marts, it did not materialise because of some constraints.
“We are ready to open more walk-in liquor stores. Those who have the required building space (1000 sqft approximately) and are willing to rent it can approach depot managers of the APSBCL or the excise superintendent of the concerned district. Later, the officials will inspect and finalise the rent,” APSBCL Managing Director D Vasudeva Reddy told TNIE.
However, he was quick to add that the number of total wine shops including elite shops will not exceed 2,934 in the State as they will close down a few wine shops located near the new elite shop.The sale of liquor through the government wine shops has witnessed an unexpected decline in the recent past. In fact, the dip in liquor sales after the government lifted Covid curbs came as a surprise for officials.
“When the partial curfew was in force from 2 pm to 6 am, despite less time for sale (6 am to 1 pm), we used to get `62 crore to `63 crore a day on an average. However, now, though normalcy is restored and sales time has increased (11 am to 8 pm), the average sales stood at `53 crore on an average,” an official said.
Observing that it may be an indication of the flow of illegal liquor from the neighbouring states and preparation of illegal liquor (arrack) within the state, the officials felt that following the relaxations, movement of people was increased and the same might lead to flow of illegal liquor from neighbouring states.