Currency ban gives liquor outlets a bad hangover in Andhra

VISAKHAPATNAM: While the country is debating over the demonetisation, the note ban has come as a blow to the liquor outlets in the North Coastal Andhra. The sales has dropped by 40 per cent, said the excise officials.

Though the officials initially opined that the sales would get back to normal with the introduction of e-POS machines at the outlets, more than 90 per cent of liquor shops in Visakhapatnam district are yet to procure the swiping terminals, causing further drop in the sales.

According to the officials of Prohibition and Excise Visakhapatnam district, the per month average sale of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IML) stands at 3 lakh cases, while it is 2 lakh cases of beers. However, between November 9 to December 8, only 2.25 lakh IML and 1.16 lakh beer cases were sold in the district.
Visakhapatnam has 123 bar-and-restaurants and 363 wine shops of which 80 Bar-and-restaurants and 63 wine shops are in the city limits. According to ACP (Department of Prohibition and Excise (Enforcement) SVN Babji, only 59 outlets in the district have e-POS terminals.

“Getting currency notes has become a major task  these days and people do not prefer to spend the little cash they have on booze,” said Babji, adding that 427 outlets are in the process of procurement of e-POS. Though a few bar-and-restaurants have started using apps like Paytm to encourage customers, very few are found to be using them.

“It’s only students and youth who are using Paytm to buy beer. Given most of our customers are labourers, Paytm payments are not useful for us,” said Jeeva, a wine shop owner near Pithapuram Colony.
Similar situations prevail in Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts.

Srikakulam has 234 wine shops and 15 bar-and-restaurants and the sales have come down by 35 per cent, with a few outlets having e-PoS terminals.