This time on Diwali, the sale of liquor in the state has broken all previous records. Not only all the major metropolis, including Lucknow, but also in the small districts, English and country liquor were sold in great numbers. The amateurs gifted bottle of wine along with dry fruits and sweets.
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According to the excise department sources, this time, on festival occasion, 20-25 percent more alcohol was sold than the normal days. According to the excise department data, in October, the department received revenue of about 1600 crore rupees. In normal days, the sale of liquor is around Rs 50 to 60 crore. During diwali the sale exceeded 25 percent.
Tremendous Sale of Country Liquor
According to Janardan Yadav, District Excise Officer of Lucknow, popular brands of English liquor were sold in urban areas, while there was tremendous sale of country liquor in rural areas. He said that in normal days, the sale of domestic liquor in Lucknow district is about 55 thousand litres, while this time, on Diwali 76 thousand 540 litres of domestic liquor was sold. Likewise, in usual days, English liquor sales are about 80 thousand bottles, this time during festival one hundred and five thousand bottles of English liquor were sold. Beer sale is around 50 thousand bottles in normal days, while during festival 64,000 bottles of beer were sold.
Record Revenue Collected in Capital
According to liquor and beer retailers, Lucknow liquor association General Secretary Kanhaiya Lal Maurya said that on the occasion of this five-day festival, Diwali and Zamghat recorded the maximum sale. Last year, the sale was around rupees12 crore. This time record sales of rupees15 crore have been recorded.
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According to Mr Maurya, this time due to Diwali the sale has increased in the early days of the month and the trend of giving liquor as gift has also increased. People gifted gift bags of expensive brands of English wine as gifts along with sweets.