Liquor Sales Spike in Poll Run-Up

HYDERABAD: Liquor sales in the state have ramped up in November, in the run-up to the state Assembly polls on November 30, with 36.01 lakh cartons of liquor worth Rs 1,400 crore being sold. In the same period last year, i.e. November 1 to 19, 29.97 lakh cartons worth Rs 1,200 crore were sold, indicating a 17 per cent increase in the quantity sold.

According to the information obtained from Telangana State Beverages Corporation Limited, 21.89 lakh cartons of beer and 14.12 lakh cartons of other liquor were sold from November 1 to 19 this year, with the corresponding figures for the same period in 2022 were 11.87 lakh cartons and 18.1 lakh cartons, respectively.

Beer sales increased by 20 per cent this year, the information showed.

Officials said that an increase in sales was a normal phenomenon during election time, adding that a crackdown by enforcement agencies prevented a steep rise.

They said that most people in the state prefer beer to harder forms of liquor and the rise in sales was mainly registered in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) areas, besides erstwhile undivided districts of Nalgonda, Karimnagar, Warangal and Mahbubnagar.

The ongoing auspicious Karthika Masam, which will continue till December 12, also forced many contestants to stay away from purchasing liquor in bulk quantities to woo voters, officials said.

They said that the sales might not increase further as the current licence tenure of the wine shops would end this month and most shopkeepers already started decreasing their orders.