Telangana wine shops and liquor outlets witnessed a mad rush on Tuesday after the state government announced a brief lockdown for 10 days.
Although the government permitted opening all kinds of shops between 6 AM and 10 AM, the tipplers rushed to wine shops to buy the liquor in large quantity to keep stock at home.
As per reports, about Rs 125 crore’ worth of liquor was sold yesterday alone. Liquor sales stood at Rs 676 crore till May 11. About Rs 61 crore worth of stocks were sold per day.
However, vendors said sales doubled in a single day on Tuesday. The highest sales were in Ranga Reddy district with over Rs 24 crore. In Nalgonda, it was Rs 15. 24 crore, Rs. 12.25 crore in Khammam and Rs. 10.17 crore in Hyderabad. Shopkeepers said they were carrying extra cargo because of congestion.
Liquor stores and restaurants are not allowed to open before 10 am according to excise regulations. But those rules were relaxed and allowed to open from 6 am to 10 pm. The Department of Excise estimates that the lockdown will not affect revenue from alcohol.