PUDUCHERRY: Though tourists have begun to flock back to Puducherry, considered a drinkers’ paradise, the sale of liquor has not picked up even when other businesses are showing signs of revival. Despite it being the tourist season, the liquor sales are down by around 30 to 40 per cent, a liquor merchant said.
With the UT government levying Special Excise Duty on booze, prices of bottles had become similar to the rates in Tamil Nadu and other States. The prices of some bottles doubled and some even tripled after the government order.
The excise duty was imposed till November 30 to ensure that people from nearby TN districts did not travel to union territory and exacerbate the Covid spread. The cheap rates and varieties of liquor along with good ambience lured people to the union territory before the pandemic and contributed significantly to government coffers.
“Now that the bottle rates here are same as those in Chennai, the sales have dropped,” a merchant said. Though bars have been permitted to open since October 1, many bars are yet to open for want of patronage. Traders are waiting for government to drop the excise duty at the earliest as Christmas and New Year holidays are round the corner.