Hyderabad: The excise department earned Rs 50 crore from liquor sales during the Medaram Jatara, which was held from January 31 to February 3.
There is a huge demand for liquor, country hen and jaggery during Medaram Jatara.
Twenty-two temporary bars had been allowed in Medaram for a week from January 28 to February 3 to meet the demand. The excise department collected a licence fee of Rs 9,000 per day and exempted MRP for traders.
Nearly Rs 14 lakh was earned through licence fees alone. The 22 bars alone earned Rs 4 crore in a week.
Liquor shops in surrounding towns and districts saw a 50 per cent increase in sales during the week, which fetched another Rs 46 crore.
The sales increased sharply in Warangal urban, Warangal rural, Bhupalapally, Mahabu-babad, Jangoan, Khammam, Kothagudem, Adila-bad, Manchirial, and Peddapally districts.
In fact liquor sales in districts surrounding Meda-ram increase two months prior to the jatara.
There is a ritual that devotees worship Sammakka Saralamma in their homes two months ahead of the jatara and invite their relatives and friends to celebrate by serving liquor.
Liquor shops increase their stocks two months in advance which is reflected in increased sales during this period every two years when the jatara is held.
The increased revenues are also attributed to TS Breweries Corporation Ltd supplying liquor for temporary bars in Medaram for a price which is above 30 per cent of MRP.
To recover this, traders are given a free hand to collect above MRP based on the demand. Traders collect an additional Rs 100 to Rs 150 on each bottle.
Though the excise department permitted only 22 bars in Medaram, it’s an open secret that liquor traders from surrounding districts set up more than 3,000 belt shops,which are spread over a radius of 3-km from Medaram.
Excise officials often don’t take action against illegal belt shops during the fair and allegations of officials receiving huge bribes from traders in return are common.
“As per preliminary estimates, Rs 50 crore was earned during Medaram Jataram. This will be even more when final figures come out in two days,” said an official.
