Liquor sales in Anantapur and Kurnool districts saw a significant rise in the current fiscal compared to 2020-21, thanks to the lowering of prices by 15% to 20% from December 19 and extending the sale timing at the counters by an hour since last month.
The third-highest jump (41.66%) in sale value in the State this year has been witnessed in Kurnool Depot from ₹346.92 crore till 2021 January-end to ₹441.96 crore E till Saturday.
For the entire financial year, it was ₹491.45 crore. Nandyal Depot recorded only a 21.94% increase in the sale value from ₹369.67 crore to ₹450.76 Crore. The sales in 2019 were ₹661.5 crore, but sales in the current fiscal are yet to reach that level.
Anantapur district witnessed a 29.47% increase in sale value for 2021-22 from ₹792.74 core (2020-21 till Jan-end) to ₹1,026.24 crore till Saturday.
Anantapur Nodal Prohibition and Excise Superintendent Rangoon Srinivasan Kumareswaran said the increase in consumption was mainly due to reduced prices since last month and the reduction was close to 50% also on a couple of brands.
Smuggling from Karnataka
“We were able to arrest smuggling of Karnataka liquor effectively with the help of Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB) sleuths led by Additional SP J. Rammohan Rao,” he added. The only attraction even today is the 90ml tetra pack of Karnataka, which is popular among people in rural areas. The SEB and the Excise Department are making efforts to completely stop the smuggling of these packs and also effectively curb local brewing in some remote pockets, said Mr. Rammohan Rao.
The sales in Anantapur recorded ₹1,262.54 crore in 2018, ₹1,174.4 crore in 2019; ₹999.2 crore in 2020; and it has already reached ₹1,026 crore by January-end. Increased availability of different brands of liquor at some ‘Liquor Malls’ newly started, also has pushed up the sale in urban pockets.
