ADILABAD: While most businessmen struggled to find their bearings in November in the wake of demonetisation, liquor traders were pumping in money to buy up and hoard huge quantities of the Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL).
The liquor sale graph for the month shows an increase by over 12 per cent over the sale in November last year which, actually shows the increase in quantum of extra stocks lifted by retailers and bar and restaurant owners in the four districts which hitherto constituted undivided Adilabad.
The increase in stock lifting would have been much higher but for the quantum decrease in the lifting of beer. The brew shows a negative growth of 3.14 per cent against the 1,04,838 cases sold in November last year.
When compared to the Rs. 61 crore worth of liquor having been lifted in November 2015, the TS Beverages Corporation Limited depots at Utnoor and Mancherial supplied various products worth Rs. 67 crore to the 158 retail vends and 24 bar and restaurants, a jump of over Rs. 6 crore.
The hoarders stood to benefit from the decision to stockpile as the Government increased the sale price of many a popular brand apart from rationalising prices in December.
Demonetised currency
The notable increase in lifting of stocks came apparently as the traders purchased the quantities using demonetised currency, of course through banking transactions only. It is learnt that the Income Tax Department is seized of the matter and has plans to look into the source of such funds. The highest jump in liquor lifting, at about 20 per cent amounting to over Rs. 1 crore, in addition to the Rs. 5.3 crore worth liquor sold in November last year, was registered the 12 retail and 2 bar and restaurants operating under the Kagaznagar Excise Station in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district.
It is common knowledge that liquor is smuggled into Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts in Maharashtra from the shops in mandals like Sirpur (T), Koutala and Bejjur, which are on the inter State border.Having lifted additional stocks worth Rs. 2.26 crore, over the nearly 14 crore worth of liquor in November last year, Nirmal district registered the highest growth at 16.22 per cent. The 22 retails and 2 bar and restaurants under Nirmal Excise Station recorded a growth of over 17 per cent, despite the area recording good sales of toddy.
Mancherial district, with its huge coal belt, recorded a growth of 14.23 per cent in sale value over the 11.27 crore recorded in November 2015. The 69 retails vends and 6 bar and restaurants operating under Mancherial Excise Station purchased extra stocks worth nearly Rs. 3 crore.
