Since march 22nd, in almost all the states in the country, the wine shops were closed. Time and again there has been a demand or we may call as request to open them at least for the sake of revenues to the states. But the Centre has made it clear to the states that it would not allow to open wine stores at any cost.
Meanwhile the cumulative loss incurred due to closure of wine stores all over the country is Rs 17,500 crore. The state of telangana has lost nearly Rs 2,000 crore while andhra pradesh incurred losses of Rs 750 crore. Without any second thought, liquor sales are major source of revenue for every state in the country and so they are worried about the financial resources.
This closure of wines is also leading to new problems. Alcohol addicts are getting hospitalized while black market is growing. There are unconfirmed reports that in a few states, the governments are encouraging other means of liquor sales. Yet the Centre is in no mood to open wine stores for time being. We hear that the Centre will ask the states to close the wines till May 3rd. hopefully by then the threat of corona virus should come down in India. If not the lockdown may be extended and wines will also have to follow the orders.
click and follow Indiaherald WhatsApp channel