Meat stalls and liquor shops did brisk business in the city as holidayers went into celebration mode taking advantage of the Dasara festival and weekend. The sale of meat went up on Friday, Saturday and Sunday while fish sale was seen only on Sunday.
Long queue lines were witnessed at meat stalls on Friday and Sunday. Many people were seen buying one to two kg chicken on an average.
Some preferred to purchase both chicken and mutton. One kg of broiler chicken (skinless) was sold for about ₹260 a kg, while a kg of broiler chicken (with skin) was sold for ₹250 a kg.
“We normally buy only a kg of chicken, but with relatives visiting us and special dishes being prepared for Dasara, we had to purchase 2.5 kg,” said Adinarayana, a resident of MVP Colony.
According to president of Poultry Association of Visakhapatnam, T. Apparao, this was a prolonged Dasara. People purchased meat on Friday, Saturday and then again on Sunday. While the sale of chicken was good on Friday and Sunday, it was moderate on Saturday. “On Sundays, there would be a sale of about 2.30 lakh fowls in Visakhapatnam district. Today, there is a rise in sales by 10 to 15 %,” he added.
Long queues were witnessed at liquor outlets in many areas of the city since morning on Sunday. There was good sale of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) at many outlets. However, officials were not available to provide the details regarding the liquor sales during the past three days.
Meanwhile, Beach Road and local tourist places saw huge rush in view of Dasara festival and weekend.
