Liquor: Licence to protest
Huge turnout of applicants as well as protesters marks draw of lots
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-06-30 06:18 GMT
Vijayawada: Amidst protests from various groups, the state government began the process of allotting liquor shops across the district through draw of lots on Monday at Machilipatnam for Krishna district and in Guntur for Guntur district. Krishna district collector Ahmed Babu picked the first licencee through the lottery system in the morning and the process was going on till late at night.
Of the 302 shops in Krishna district, bids were submitted for 294 shops by 6,995 hopefuls. As many as 29 licences were allotted to the sole applicants who had expressed interest in running the shops. By 8 pm on Monday, officials could only allot 70 shops through the draw of lots and it may take one more day to allot all the remaining shops.
A similar situation was witnessed at Guntur where the highest number of tenders were filed. More than 11,000 people expressed interest for the 305 licences. Thousands of hopefuls, including women applicants, visited the venues where the draw of lots was going on. Officials failed to provide adequate facilities.
Meanwhile, women activists staged protests at Machilipatnam and other parts of the district against the new liquor policy. The Excise department would set up and run 33 shops on its own. The draw of lots was held at separate counters for Vijayawada and Machilipatnam zones.