ANANTAPUR: There is an abnormal rise of liquor consumption in Telangana state while AP could not improve sales for the last four-and-a-half years after bifurcation. Telangana state’s revenue through liquor sales was reportedly Rs 17,000 crore, and this is a weapon for the Congress and other Opposition parties. The Congress is attacking the TRS on the slogan, ‘Madhyam Telangana’ instead of Bangaru Telangana during the ongoing election campaign.
Liquor sales in AP remained stable after bifurcation and there was no improvement in sales as in Telangana state. Experts blame the AP Prohibition and Excise department’s failure to control illicit distillation of liquor in most parts of the state.
The Andhra Pradesh government has been im-plementing ‘Navodayam', a massive awareness campaign against ID liquor in the villages. Except for the four districts of Kurnool, Krishna, East Godavari and Chittoor, the others were declared ID-free.
A senior official who was with the task force on excise and prohibition said that even ID-free districts were seeing ID liquor preparation. In Anantapur district, several tribal areas continued to brew their own liquor using slippers, torch cells and harmful materials.
While Navodayam failed to curb ID liquor preparation and consumption that impacted revenue of the state, the Telangana government successfully controlled ID liquor and sales in the new state. The consumption of Indian-made liquor was about 4 lakh litres a day in Telangana state four years ago which has almost doubled and now equals that of Andhra Pradesh.
“Perhaps, strict implementation against belt shops hit duty paid liquor sales in AP.
Regular consumers in remote areas cannot get liquor at their doorstep. Previously belt shops were reportedly selling duty paid liquor by purchasing from nearby shops in their jurisdiction,” an official observed.
Last October, the Urban Nutrition Report by the National Institute of Nutrition found AP and Telangana state stood second in the number of men in urban areas consuming liquor at 37.4 per cent. The survey carried out in urban areas found that Andaman and Nicobar Islands topped with 51.3 per cent men drinking alcohol.
