At 11 a.m. on Thursday, two young graduates — one employed as a supervisor and the other employed as a salesman — opened the shutters of the Andhra Pradesh State Beverages Corporation Limited’s (APSBCL) store located in a busy junction near Benz Circle of the city.
It was their second day at work and they have a hoard of liquor bottles to protect and a couple of ledger books to register the stock inflow and outflow after and before the business hours of 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
"The two of us handled business of over ₹1.90 lakh on Day 1. The paperwork was daunting. We stayed back at the store till midnight to finish it up, but there is still a lot of work pending," said Phani (name changed), a salesman at the store who was asking customers to return at noon citing pending work.
Phani holds a degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering from a top private university near here.
"The sales will go on smoothly only if officials provide us with the equipment required and appoint two more salesmen as promised at the earliest. The store, which was until a few days ago run by private traders, used to make a business of over ₹4 lakh per day," he said.
However, the situation is not the same at all liquor stores. A few kilometres away near Jammi Chettu Centre, young supervisor P. Venkatesh, who is a graduate, and his team of two salesmen, were happy to begin sales at 11 a.m. as they managed to complete the paperwork in advance. For Mr. Venkatesh, the sole breadwinner of his family, the new job has been a boon as he struggled to find a proper job ever since graduating from college a couple of years ago.
Buyers were given bottles without any plastic bag or water packets as the new liquor policy does not permit the sale of any product other than the specific brands of liquor.
Positive move
In a broader light, the new excise policy has in a matter of days ushered in a sea change for the better. A radical change is being witnessed in the way liquor is sold at MRP.
The permit rooms too have become a thing of the past, and no person is allowed to consume liquor anywhere near the store. Additional sources of revenue for the private wine shop owners, such as water packets, which used to be sold in thousands each day, snacks and soft drinks, have all been abolished.
"Now, the liquor shops are just like any other store on a street corner. People can buy only liquor over the counter and walk away," said an excise official.
"For a normal person who drinks occasionally, the new policy makes no difference, except for the increase in prices. But for those who have become addicted to liquor, a lot of things have changed and they are looking for alternatives in vain to consume the liquor purchased before going home," said D. Suresh, who bought liquor at a wine shop near Jammi Chettu Centre.
Every store is supposed to be equipped with a cash chest, cash counting machines-cum-fake note detector, bill books, CCTV cameras and machinery for the implementation of Hedonic Path Finder System (HPFS) and reading of Holographic Excise Adhesive Labels (HEAL).
However, the equipment is being slowly rolled out to the stores that opened on October 1 across the State.
A challenge
For the Prohibition and Excise Department, enforcement will soon turn become a challenge as people find it difficult to cope with the curtailed business hours. Belt shops are also expected to surface as demand for liquor shoots up.
The Department has allocated each liquor store an excise constable who would oversee the business and manage the crowd. The Department will also engage Mahila Police Assistants recruited through the Ward and Village Secretariats at areas required for the safety of women.
Meanwhile, owners of bars and restaurants are expecting a steep rise in their sales and revenue. At the same time, they are also perplexed at the speculated arrival of a new policy for bar and restaurants in the next phase.
