TS gulps down liquor worth Rs 172 crore in one day!

Hyderabad: The New Year celebrations in Telugu states saw liquor sales of nearly Rs 300 crore.

In Telangana, tipplers guzzled liquor worth Rs 172 crore in a single day on December 31. According to sources, this is only the preliminary estimates and the final figures could be much higher. As there were no restrictions in organising events in pubs, hotels and convention centres, large-scale celebrations were held in Hyderabad as well as across the State. In Hyderabad and in the rest of Telangana, the authorities had extended the timing for pubs, bars and liquor shops, which further contributed to the jump in sales.

The Prohibition and Excise Department of Telangana permitted licence-holders of bars, licensees of event permit managements and in-house licensees of the Telangana Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) to serve liquor up to 1 am on the intervening night of December 31, 2021 and January 1, 2022.

Relaxing the rules, the government also allowed liquor shops to sell booze till 12 midnight of December 31. Hyderabad and neighbouring Ranga Reddy districts recorded the highest sales.

In December, Telangana earned a record Rs 3,459 crore from liquor sales. According to officials, the liquor sales during December 2020 were Rs 2,765 crore. For the entire 2021, liquor sales in the State are expected to be Rs 30,222 crore.

The Excise Department recently approved 104 more shops and 159 bars in Telangana. The state presently has 2,220 liquor shops and 1,500 pubs, bars, restaurants and tourism hotels.