Khammam: The day of the election results for local bodies in Andhra Pradesh also proved to be a day of windfall to the belt shops and liquor shop licence-holders in ten mandals of Khammam and Bhadradri-Kothagudem districts.
Anticipating the high demand, liquor shops owners shifted liquor of all brands to the belt shops two days before the counting. The police in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh left the people free and the winners of MPTCs and ZPTCs and their followers thronged the Telangana belt shops and lifted liquor and beer from there.
It is learnt that the liquor shops in the border mandals made a business of Rs 10 crore on Sunday alone. Heavy rush was evident at the belt shops in mandals like Vemsoor, Dammapet, Awaraopet, Penuballi, Kallur, Tallada, Madhira, Bonaakal, Errupalem and Nelakondapalli in the two districts.
The winners and their supporters in the MPTC polls in Makkinagudem and Sitanagaram thronged the belt shops located Jalavagu in Dammapet mandal and those from Krishnaraopalem and Vemireddypalli MPTCs of Nuzivid and Tiruvur assembly constituencies went to the belt shops in Kandukur in Vemsoor mandal.
Asodu Venkateswara Rao of Vemsoor said, “Many people lifted cases of liquor and beer from the belt shops and shifted these to the villages of Andhra Pradesh. The MPTCs and ZPTCs felt relief with the counting after six months of wait after the elections due to court cases.
“They celebrated the victory with the liquor”. The licensed liquor shop owners in Dammapet and Vemsoor shifted liquor to the belt shops, the shifted stocks being of the order of Rs 1 crore. The excise and police officials of the both states looked the other way as it was time for fun and jubilation to the successful sides.
