Andhra Pradesh Uncorks Sale Of Liquor To Public

The first step to make India-made foreign liquor (IMFL) available to the public was taken by the Andhra Pradesh Beverages Corporation yesterday when it notified manufacturers of IMFL, wine and beer to enter into rate contracts with it for the period ending March 31, 1998.

The public sector outfit enjoys a monopoly on wholesale procurement of liquor. All the retail outlets have to obtain their requirements from it.

The corporation has made it clear that it will procure only extra neutral alcohol (ENA) products alcohol produced from extra purefied spirits or quality brands of liquor and no tenders need be filed for alcohol based on rectified spirit.

 

This decision has generated a controversy as distillery owners feel that a distinction has been made between extra neutral alcoholproducts and rectified spirit products under pressure from the influential liquor lobby.

Of the 22 distilleries in the state, which were functional before the ban on liquor manufacture was imposed in mid-1995, only six have facilities for distillation, that is, for manufacture of extra neutral alcohol products.

These are controlled by big names like McDowell, Shaw Wallace, Liquor India, Jagjit Industries, Paramount and Satya Wineries.

The other distilleries, sources say, can manufacture only the products based on rectified spirit, which, in other terms, are known as cheap liquor and accounted for almost 70 per cent of the liquor consumption in the state before prohibition was clamped.

The corporation will finalise tenders for wholesale supply on April 11.

Meanwhile, the state government has finalised its plans for retailing liquor. According to indications, retailing will start on April 18. The government has decided not to allow liquor vending in clubs and bars as public drinking is banned.

According to the governments plan, 2,500 retail outlets will be allowed and the district collectors will issue notifications on April 4 inviting tenders for the outlets. The tenders will be finalised on April 15.

The largest number of retail outlets 207 will be in Hyderabad-Secunderabad. Among the districts, Visakhapatnam will lead with 127 shops, followed by Guntur with 126.

All Tuesdays, the pay day (first of the month) and national holidays will be dry days.