Karnataka does not ‘hic’ on two serious occasions; Gandhi Jayanti and during elections. Or so does the state think, as lex loci says that alcohol is a subject in the state list under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India.
So, having been pampered with umpteen number of pubs, bars and wine stores, Bangaloreans just cannot bear their parched throats, especially during the elections, which forces three or four days of closure of their favourite haunts.
So what do they do? They stock up. Calculating their consumption, people buy in bulk and there is no regulation that can stop them too. There is enough brouhaha and as a result, every bar and wine store seem to be bombilating like a cicada. And wine store and bar owners get on to mammonism prior to elections.
Let’s go to the biggies: Since the time campaigning started, big time and small time distilleries, breweries, and wineries in the city have been experiencing increased sales.
But when the election commission (EC) directed to install CCTVs on their premises so as to monitor their operations and prevent unauthorised sale of liquor, which violates the poll code of conduct, it hit the biggies hard.
Alas! Sales have come down and there have been seizures too.
According to P N Poddar who is in the managing committee of All India Distillers’ Association and is also the Sr. vice president - manufacturing, United Spirits Ltd., there has definitely been a drop.
“The restrictions started in the month of April and will go on till the counting. It is for the first time that there have been so many restrictions. Previous years, there was never such restriction. Production has been restricted to 5 pm and there is police checking every 100 meters when the liquor trucks are travelling. Lot of brands are out of stock and supplies are definitely getting affected,” said P N Poddar, Sr. vice president - manufacturing, United Spirits Ltd.
The state, on an average, sells over 35-40 lakh cases of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) in a month through its sole distributor, the Karnataka State Beverages Corporation. So, when enquired about the drop in sales, Poddar stated that there was no drop last month, but there was an impact. He said, “In April, the sale was about 42 lakh cases, and if there were no restrictions, then the figure would have only gone up substantially.”
Let’s go to the bars: Sometime back, CCTVs were asked to be installed in every alcohol outlet, at their own expense, to curb crime. But as earlier reported by City Express, there is no immediate monitoring. It is only when a major incident happens that the police takes the ‘black box’ from the place of the incident and studies it.
According to a cashier at a city bar, the utility of the CCTV has not yet been established and police have never even come once. “We switch it on as and when we feel like,” he stated.
But now, police authorities have reinforced the operation of CCTVs. “They have asked us to ensure that the CCTVs are switched on as soon as we open the bar,” said the supervisor of a bar on Brigade Road.
So, how has sales been in the last few days. “On Thursday, parcel sales tripled. On Friday, since we were open till 5 pm, the tripled figure of Thursday again tripled,” said a supervisor from a bar near Munireddypalya.
The Commissioner has ordered closure of all wine shops from 6 am to midnight on May 8 when the counting of votes would be taken up. This is likely to againg increase sales.
On contacting the Bangalore Bars and Restaurants Association, a member, who did not want to be named, stated, “It is a known fact that sales prior to closure of bars increases. The main sale is of low brand liquor, then beer and then the medium range. The high-end brands see mediocre rise. A ballpark figure on the rise would be 15-20 per cent in terms of revenue. Bulk orders are not much,” he stated. But he stressed that supplies are low and so there is demand only for certain low brands. “Thus, the revenue accrued is also not substantial when compared to sales,” he stated.
With Election Commission trying to ensure that people don’t drink and Bangaloreans trying hard to get their peg or draught, these few days have been a period of unrestrained and immoderate self-indulgence, in many ways.