25 per cent decline in liquor sales in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Liquor sales have come down by 25 per cent in the capital and by upto 35 per cent in the rest of the state following the demonetisation.

The city has 234 liquor shops where sales range between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 4 lakh per day. In the nearly 2,000 shops elsewhere in the state, sales are usually around Rs 1.5 lakh. Most of the liquor sold is of the cheap variety, costing Rs 40, Rs 60, Rs 75 and Rs 85, with the first two being the most popular.

Telangana Wine Dealers Association president D. Venkateswar Rao said non-availability of Rs 100 notes had affected the sale of cheap liquor. Due to low sales, wine dealers’ are not lifting stock from the TS Beverages Corporation. This could affect the state’s own tax revenue.