Vijayawada:The state Excise Department has completed the lottery process to allot private liquor shops in all the 26 districts on Monday. A total of 89,882 applications were submitted for the allocation of 3,396 shops. The lottery process began at 8am and concluded by 3pm.
The atmosphere in some areas resembled the scene outside a vote counting centre. Applicants from other states too, including Delhi, Maharashtra, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh, participated in the lottery.
Notably, supporters of ruling party MLAs obtained three to five shops each, while large syndicates that applied for multiple shops secured fewer -- just five to ten licences -- official sources said.
In districts like Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada (NTR) and Krishna, a significant number of licences were secured by women applicants. They secured 16 shops in NTR district, seven in Krishna district, and 11 in Visakhapatnam.
Some applicants, who formed syndicates in hopes of securing 10 to 30 shops, expressed disappointment as luck did not favour them.
Following the completion of lottery, excise authorities began issuing provisional licences to the successful applicants after collecting the necessary fees. The shop owners are expected to stock their shops tomorrow evening. These liquor outlets will open to the public on Oct 16.
The government-run liquor shops will remain operational until the evening of Oct 15.
Excise minister Kollu Ravindra said action would be taken against violation of liquor regulations. The government’s sub-committee has reviewed the previous policy and introduced reforms, to “ensure the availability of quality liquor at affordable prices.” All liquor brands will be promoted in the new shops, he said.
The minister said a lot of applications were received from across the country, and even from abroad.
Liquor shops would not be permitted within 100 metres of temples/schools. Any violation of this rule would lead to the immediate closure of the shops. Additionally, police vigilance has been strengthened to prevent the operation of illegal "belt" shops.
