Hyderabad: Contradictory to the claims that liquor has been flowing freely in the build-up to the elections, there has been a decrease in the revenues earned by the excise department from liquor sales in March 2014 when compared to the same month last year.
Liquor, including beer, worth Rs 1,514.48 crore was sold in the state last month. In March 2013, liquor worth Rs 1,656.57 crore was sold in the state.
Almost all the districts, except Ranga Reddy, Hyderabad and Nalgonda, have seen a drop in consumption. In Vizianagaram, the drop has been significant.
In the state, the revenues went down by 8.58 per cent.
There is a big drop in beer sales this year. According to the statistics given by the Andhra Pradesh Beverages Corporation Limited, in Hyderabad, around Rs 100 crore-worth liquor was sold in March 2014.
A senior police official said, “As the election code is in effect, we have tightened the flow of liquor. There have been lot of curbs.”
However, the excise official claim that if the summers “heats up” the consumption of beer will increase during April and May.
“It is a healthy trend as far as elections are concerned. Cops and excise department should maintain this trend,” said an official.
Interestingly, most of the liquor outlets are controlled by Congress leader Botsa Satyanarayana’s family in Vizainagaram, where there is a big drop in sales.
