Dasara festival: Belt shops make hay as authorized liquor outlets remain closed in Adilabad

Belt shops in Adilabad and nearby districts recorded brisk liquor sales on Gandhi Jayanthi, with prices marked up by at least 20 per cent. Officials estimate liquor worth Rs 100 crore was sold between September 28 and October 1 across the region.

Adilabad: Belt shops or unauthorized liquor outlets made money out of the closure of authorized shops in view of Gandhi Jayanthi on Thursday.

The belt shops mushroomed mostly in rural parts and border areas of Telangana and Maharashtra and registered brisk liquor sales across the erstwhile Adilabad district. They reportedly purchased large quantities from authorized outlets in towns and district headquarters, predicting the sales with the Dasara festival falling on Gandhi Jayanthi day.

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The operators sold liquor by charging at least 20 per cent higher than the price collected at licensed shops. They were able to continue the activity due to lack of patrolling by the Prohibition and Excise department and police. The shops reported sales of alcohol worth Rs 20,000 each in a single day.

Officials said the erstwhile district registered sales of liquor worth Rs 100 crore from September 28 to October 1. It is learnt that over 1,500 belt shops were operating in Adilabad, Mancherial, Nirmal and Kumram Bheem Asifabad districts. The shops accounted for 30 per cent of alcohol sales in the past four days.

Meanwhile, police seized liquor worth Rs 38,000 from a belt shop at Ravindranagar in Echoda mandal on Wednesday.