THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala’s love affair with alcohol has been famous over the decades and the general notion is that among the various states in the country, the trend of bottom’s up is the highest here. But the truth is as bitter as the taste of liquor. Among the five south Indian states, the lowest per capita liquor consumption is in Kerala with 8.48 litres per person annually.
A comparative study of the liquor sales figures in the five south Indian states shows that Telangana tops the drinking charts with 18.97 litres and 16.93 litres per person in 2018-19 and 2017-18 financial years, respectively. It was followed by Karnataka (11.45 litres in 2018-19 and 10.92 litres in 2017-18), Andhra Pradesh (10.90 litres in 2018-19 and 9.69 litres in 2017-18) and Tamil Nadu (11.05 litres in 2018-19 and 8.90 litres in 2017-18). Kerala’s average consumption during these two fiscals was 8.48 litres and 8.1 litres, respectively.
Commenting on this, Yogesh Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director, Bevco, said, “The actual liquor consumption figures of other states are likely to be higher than the quoted figures. In Kerala, the liquor trade is fully under government control and the enforcement steps against spurious liquor and other forms of brewing are stronger than in other states,” he said.
In Tamil Nadu and Kerala, Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) wholesale as well as retail sales are through government corporations. Similarly, the National Family Health Survey conducted in 2015-16 (NFHS-4) had earlier underscored this fact. The survey had found that around 37 per cent men consume alcohol in Kerala, which is far behind states like Arunachal Pradesh (59 per cent), Tripura (57 per cent) and Telangana. Kerala was 18th in terms of alcohol consumption among men in the country.
The high density of population and limited number of shops often lead to overcrowding and serpentine queues in front of Bevco outlets, which is one of the reasons Kerala has been branded an alcoholic state, say experts.
However, the revenue figures of Kerala State Beverages Corporation (Bevco), the state-owned liquor retail monopoly, show that around 85 per cent of the revenue generated through liquor sales goes to the government coffers. During the 2019-20 fiscal, a total of Rs 14,707.44 crore was generated through liquor sales and the state got a duty share of Rs 12,554.20 crore. The state had got Rs 12426.13 crore from liquor sales in the previous fiscal.