Delhi earns Rs 525 cr in Diwali with 30 mn liquor bottles sold in 2 weeks

"The sale of liquor picks up during festivals like Holi and Diwali in Delhi as it is not only bought for personal consumption and stocking but also for giving as gifts," a senior excise officer said

Sixty-four lakh liquor bottles worth about Rs 121 crore

were bought by people in Delhi in just three days running up to Diwali on Sunday, officials said.

According to official data, the week before Diwali saw a sale of over one crore of liquor bottles fetching Rs 234.15 crore to the government, they said.

"The sale of liquor picks up during festivals like Holi and Diwali in Delhi as it is not only bought for personal consumption and stocking but also for giving as gifts," a senior excise department official said.

According to official figures the total sale in the 17 days before Diwali was over three crore bottles, bringing in a revenue of Rs 525.84 crore.

The sale of liquor picked up just ahead of Diwali with stores selling 17.33 lakh, 18.89 lakh and 27.89 lakh bottles on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, respectively. The shops were closed on Diwali that was a dry day, officials said.

This combined sale of over 64 lakh bottles in three days earned a total of Rs 120.92 crore. Last year, the sale of liquor on three days before Diwali was 13.46 lakh, 15 lakh and 19.39 lakh bottles.

On the Diwali eve on Saturday, a bumper sale of Rs 53.89 lakh worth of liquor was recorded, officials said.

As compared to 2022 when 2.11 crore liquor bottles were sold in Delhi during 17 days before Diwali, this year the number jumped to over three crore, recording a 42 per cent growth, officials said.

The average number of bottles sold during this festival period also rose to 17.93 lakh per day as compared to 12.44 lakh in 2022. The growth in average daily sale during this period was 5.49 lakh bottles or 44 per cent, they said.

There are over 650 liquor stores in the national capital that are run by four Delhi government corporations.

Ahead of the festival season, the corporations were asked to place orders and remain well stocked for Diwali sale, the excise department officer said.