Hyderabad: Second wave stalls economic growth

Hyderabad: The second wave of corona may bring economic woes back in Telangana as the commercial activity was slowing down in the State for the last one week.

Revenues generated through taxes and liquor sales were declining under the impact of corona scare. The government worried that the current financial crisis would aggravate if the trading activity goes down further in the coming weeks.

Top officials of the Commercial Taxes and Excise and Prohibition department told The Hans India that Hyderabad was bearing the brunt of deadly virus as the city witnessed business slowdown after people stopped coming to the city from districts to make purchases.

Officials said that business activity mainly sale of goods in the malls, retail and wholesale markets has gone down by 25 to 30 per cent in the State capital for a week. Footfall in the big shopping malls and multiplex was also reduced by 50 per cent in just four days. Weekend business in the entire city also registered low. The visit of people to restaurants and bars and other eatery centres also declined sharply during the weekend.

"People fear they may get infected by the corona virus and are not venturing out of their homes. This trend will affect commercial activity in the coming days," said a senior official of the Commercial Taxes department.

Consumption of fuel was also reduced by 20 per cent after the movement of people between districts and Hyderabad was restricted.

Excise officials said that liquor sales in Hyderabad were low this summer. The State capital was contributing 70 per cent of the total liquor revenues. Under the impact of corona, liquor sales were reduced by 30 per cent in Hyderabad which created a big dent on the State revenues.

"Normally, the Government earns Rs 500 crore revenue on a single day through taxes which includes VAT on fuels, liquor sales and Motor Vehicle Taxes. Now, it was around Rs 350 crore to Rs 400 crore," the official said.

The only relief is the property registrations and sale of automobiles recorded a positive growth even during the crisis time. Officials of the Stamps and Registration and Transport department were instructed to ensure the revenues generated from the two wings are not affected in the pandemic time.