WARANGAL: Though Warangal (Urban) district has become a hotbed of Covid-19 cases, after which most local traders went into a self-imposed lockdown, the local unauthorised liquor shops, widely known as belt shops, are running in full swing.
As the owners of authorised liquor stores also decided to remain shut in the wake of rising Covid cases, the belt shops are making good business but posing a threat to all.
In the light of this situation, the local residents have demanded that the district administration and gram panchayat crack the whip on the belt shops.
According to a few villagers, such belt shops function round-the-clock and that too in residential areas. They also said evenings are the toughest when tipplers gather around these shops in large numbers and drink openly.
They alleged that the shops are operating with the help of authorised liquor vendors who have diverted their stock to the former for a high price
Warangal (Urban) Collector Rajeev Gandhi Hanumanthu said they would hold a meeting with the Excise Department officials to identify the belt shops and take action.
24 cases in Sangareddy
Meanwhile, Sangareddy has been seeing a spurt in cases, with 24 new cases reported on Tuesday. Samples of 186 people suffering from fever, who visited the Sangareddy Government Hospital on the day, were collected and sent to the Osmania General Hospital in Hyderabad for testing, DMHO Mojiram Rathod said.
He said because of mass testing more positive cases are being reported. The numbers might go up next week before eventually coming down, he added. Meanwhile, Siddipet district also saw 20 Covid-19 cases on Tuesday.