MUNUGODE: The liquor that flowed in Munugode constituency over the past one month, with some of the spill-over stocks still to be consumed by voters who have been plied with booze, has left in its wake a thriving recycling industry.
On the outskirts of Munugode town, away from the hustle and bustle of a high decibel last day of the campaign for the November 3 bye-election, Venkatalakshmi, was sitting in a small truck, sorting through cardboard boxes, plastic bottles, and glass bottles that until not too many days ago, were full of liquor.
There are around 20 compounds, small and big, with piles of empty liquor bottles – of beer, whisky, and rum – waiting to be carted to Hyderabad for recycling. “We haven’t seen so many bottles in such a short time,” Venkatalakshmi said, pointing to bottles piled by colour in the compound her family owns.
With around Rs 200 crore worth of liquor sold in the Munugode constituency, the town itself has turned into a hub for collection of empty liquor bottles. “These we have right now are worth Rs 5,000. There was a time when each bottle was bought from us at Rs 1 or Rs 2. But now they buy by weight,” Venkatalakshmi said.
