Allow home delivery of liquor in Telangana, govt urged

Hyderabad: Association of Liquor and Beer Suppliers has requested the government to explore the possibility of delivering liquor at the doorstep of customers by charging a nominal fee by wine shop owners during lockdown. In a memorandum submitted to Special Chief Secretary (Revenue), Association president M Kameshwar Rao said the provision for home delivery may be incorporated for consumers who would not like to visit liquor outlets during the pandemic. This step would also restrict crowding at the outlets.

Many States have successfully implemented the home delivery service during the pandemic in 2020. The Association has also requested to allow bars to operate like wine shops to sell sealed bottles. This will ease off the pressure of crowding at liquor retail outlets. The bars suffered immensely with high losses due to infrastructure and high license costs. This will at the least, support the livelihood and alleviate the suffering of the people employed in bars.

“We request you to keep liquor trade outlets operating for six hours preferably between 10 am and 5 pm. This will curb illicit production and movement of liquor, and also check any serious risks related to drinking spurious or sanitizers as reported last year,” Rao said. He said the livelihood of lakhs of people employed in this trade can be protected other than minimising huge losses suffered by the retail licensees.

The Association said the working hours for manufacturing and backend operations of Telangana State Beverages Corporation Limited (TSBCL) depots, transport, loading and unloading may be allowed as usual as they are already experienced in maintaining due diligence in safety norms and work with minimum staff.

The Association has also sought exemption of penalties levied on ground stock till the end of the pandemic. Despite the most challenging times, the Prohibition and Excise department and TSBCL have been at the forefront of supporting the government revenue targets through its exemplary performance. Most States in the current context were closely following Telangana to find the right path of a sustainable revenue model for their treasury, it added.

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