Beer Prices Up As Poll Fever Grips Vizag 

With the elections coming close and with the rise in temperatures at Visakhapatnam, there have been more takers for beer in the city. This has led to a potential shortage in the alcoholic beverage.

Excise department officials and the retail outlets of alcohol say that there could be a shortage of beer in the days to come. Despite the guidelines the rates for beer has gone up by Rs 10 on the 650ml bottles. Vizag was once, not long ago, called the beer capital or the number one consumer of beer in Andhra Pradesh.

The election campaigns are a festival for the poor and liquor businessmen. The poor get a compensation of Rs 500 per day and also get free liquor to take part in political rallies and campaigns.

“It is not easy to procure more beer from excise department depots. To increase the sale, we have to procure and sell the limited supply of beer in March and April under the model code of conduct (MCC),” said S Murthy, a liquor businessman.

“As per the MCC, we can pick up only limited crates of beer and other alcoholic beverages from the depot. This may lead to a shortage of beverages in the coming days. Inventories of liquor stores, bars and restaurants and their recent sales will be scrutinized during the elections,” he added.

Demand for beer and other liquor increases during the election season as people who get money from parties spend their money at the wine shops. Some parties also purchase liquor in bulk to distribute to its voters.

T Srinivas Rao, The deputy Excise Commissioner of Vizag had said that beer was one of the most purchased alcoholic beverage during the summers.

At an average, it is said that City and rural limits of Vizag consumes around 1 lakh cartons per month. Each carton containing 12 bottles. It is said that the cities wine sellers will face a shortage of 30% in the coming days as the Model Code of conduct (MCC) would permit procurement of extra stock, he added.

It is said that Vizag has over 390 liquor shops and over 30 bars. They have all stocked up on over 90,000 cartons of beers in March due to the MCC coming into force and have pushed the price higher to meet the demands of the season.

Prohibition and Excise Department has seized liquor of over 1.5 crores in Vizag after the the MCC coming into play, and some people have been arrested for trying to illegally smuggle liquor through the borders to distribute among the voters. 11 liquor shops have been shut as they were found to be violating the MCC.

Also Read: ZP Student Attacks Classmate With Beer Bottle After Brawl Over Girl, Money