Liquor sales, IFR spirit go hand in hand in city

Visakhapatnam: The International Fleet Review (IFR) activities in Vizag has pushed the sales of beer and spirit and helped the state government in terms of increasing the revenue. The foreign delegates of various navies, Vizagites and people who visited Vizag to witness the IFR have consumed copious quantities of beer and spirit worth Rs 20 crore in the past five days.

Sources said that the foreign delegates visited the shopping malls such as CMR Central, Big Bazar, Vizag Central and few others and spent hours window shopping only. But, the visitors guzzle good amount of liquor in bars and in front of spirit shops.

A spirit businessman on condition of anonymity said that visitors from South Africa, Australia, Russia and few other nations preferred beer and they consumed the spirit standing in front of the shop and also by walking down on the streets.

The bar and restaurant at RK Beach Road in the city has been crowded with the foreign delegates only. Foreigners used to consume the spirit in the small shops over star hotels in the city, he added.

Assistant Excise Commissioner Vizag, S.V. Babji Rao said that spirit businessmen did brisk business due to the inflow of foreign delegates and tourists from various part of India to watch IFR activities. Normally all the 50 odd spirit shops and 90 odd bars in the city sell liquor worth Rs 2.5 crore to 3 crore in a day but the business almost increased by 50 per cent during the IFR time.

There are so many doubts on whether Vizag will emerge as hub for sports, IT, tourism and others.

But, one thing was clear that Vizag was the hub of spirit business in Andhra Pradesh. If pub culture increases in the city, Vizag will guzzle spirit like never before, the spirit businessmen and excise officials said.