Visakhapatnam: Thanks to TD’s Mahanadu, many tipsy drivers, including some cops, who came from different parts of the state, had a rollicking time while under the influence of booze.
As most of the cops, including traffic police, were busy with the Mahanadu, the three-day TD conclave from May 27 to 29, this proved to be a boon to drunken drivers who had an unfettered ride in the absence of cops equipped with breath analysers for nearly a week.
The Mahanadu also pushed the sales of beer and liquor, which touched an all-time high thanks to the hot and humid weather and the influx of over 50,000 people from various parts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for the Mahanadu. Over 35,000 cases of beer were sold in just one week from May 23 to 29.
“It wasn’t just the regular tipplers, but also the police, who came to the city to take up Mahanadu duties from various parts of the state, who visited our shop and consumed beer and liquor. Normally we sell over 1,000 beers a day but during the Mahanadu we sold over 3,000 beers in a day,” said S. Srinivas, a liquor businessman in Vizag city.
The excise officials said that over Rs 10 crore worth of beer and liquor was sold in the past one week in Vizag region. As per the statistics available from the government dashboard, during the period from May 27 to May 29, as many as 20,681 cases of liquor and 25,973 cases of beers were sold, which was almost 40 per cent above the normal.
A senior police officer on condition of anonymity said almost all the police from various wings of the Vizag police commissionerate were deployed for smooth conduct of the Mahanadu from May 26 to May 29 and admitted that the campaign against drunken driving had to be set aside for a while. “We will resume the drive from Wednesday,” he added.
