HYDERABAD: Even as vegetable and poultry sales are plummeting due to the COVID-19 scare, liquor sale, despite the price hike, has remained constant in Telangana during the last 16 days. There has, in fact, been a marginal increase in liquor sales.
According to data from the Telangana State Beverages Corporation Limited (TSBCL), on March 16 alone, liquor worth Rs 99.99 crore was sold in the state.
In the last 16 days, the corporation has registered a liquor sale of Rs 980.49, which, according to the officials, is slightly more than that of last year.
“Last year, we registered an average sale of Rs 60-70 crore per day and up to Rs 80 crore on weekends. Since the past two to three weeks, the average sale is around Rs 90 crore on weekdays and on weekends the sale is hitting up to Rs 110 crore,” said a TSBCL official.
“Notwithstanding the price hike, we have seen marginal growth in the sale of liquor in the last 15-20 days,” he added.
Though the State government has declared holidays for schools and colleges, asked movie theatres pubs and bars to remain shut, and cancelled public gatherings till March 31 on account of the prevailing situation, no such directive was issued to wine shop dealers in the city.
“In the last few days, we have seen an incline in the sale of liquor, particularly beer,” said a wine shop dealer, Ravi, from Sri Ganesh Wines, Punjagutta.
According to the corporation’s reports, the State has seen 18.22 per cent of overall growth in revenue in the first two quarters of the current financial year. This is the highest among the south Indian States.
Nizamabad agri market to be shut from March 21
Additional collector of Nizamabad, after meeting with traders, decided to shut the Nizamabad Agriculture Market from March 21.
The decision comes after the turmeric exports to Gulf countries, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were stopped amid the COVID-19 outbreak. A
MC Secretary S Swaruparani said this will not affect farmers. “Presently, farmers are bringing in stocks that are high in moisture for which they won’t get the expected price. If they get dry stocks, they will get a good price,” she said.