Patan Afzal Babu Hyderabad

Liquorsales in Telangana recorded a massive increase during the Dasara festival, with sales worth Rs 755.14 crore during the festive period. Last year, liquor worth Rs 698 crore was sold during the same festive period.

State Excise and Prohibition Department officials said liquor worth Rs 303.40 crore was sold across all licensed liquor outlets on October 19, the day before the festival.

Liquor worth Rs 102.17 crore was sold on October 14, while sales stood at Rs 126.32 crore on October 16, followed by Rs 223.25 crore on October 17. Although sales dipped on October 18 due to the Sunday holiday, they surged to Rs 303.40 crore on October 19. Total sales during these four days amounted to Rs 755.14 crore.

In all, 6.83 lakh cases of hard liquor were purchased during the four-day period. Beer sales were even higher, reaching 10.44 lakh cases. By October 19, total liquor sales for the month had reached Rs 2,055 crore.

Sales stood at Rs 3,209 crore in September and Rs 3,482 crore in August.

Excise Department officials expect October sales to be the highest, given the surge during the Dasara festival. Sales this year have surpassed those recorded during the previous Dasara. Liquor worth Rs 698 crore was sold over four days last year, compared with Rs 755.14 crore this year, marking a significant increase.

It may be mentioned that the Excise Department is the State's second-largest revenue-generating department after the Registration and Stamps Department. The government has been focusing on increasing revenue from liquor sales by permitting new bars and restaurants and raising the prices of foreign liquor.