Tipplers in Kerala gulped down liquor worth Rs 487 crore during the eight days preceding Thiruvonam, the main day of the Onam festival. Last year, the amount stood at Rs 457 crore.
The period refers to the eight days between September 3 and 10.
Onam is the traditional harvest festival celebrated across the various religious communities in the state. On Uthradom, the day before Thiruvonam, the sale of liquor was recorded at Rs 90.32 crore, compared to Rs 88 crore in the previous year. As in the past, the state-owned Kerala State Beverages Corporation outlet at Irinjalakuda in Thrissur district recorded the highest sale of Rs 1.44 crore, compared to Rs 1.22 crore last year.
The second highest record was made by the Bevco outlet in Court junction, Alappuzha and following it is the Bevco outlet in Power House Road, Thiruvananthapuram, according to a report in The New Indian Express. In its last state budget, the government had increased the tax rate on the sale of foreign liquor through Bevco outlets by 2%. Officials said that the price hike may have contributed to the increased revenue.
Liquor is sold in Kerala only through state-owned outlets.
Man killed in drunken party
Meanwhile, in what appears to have been a booze party among friends, a man was stabbed to death by his friends at a hotel in Thiruvananthapuram. The deceased was identified as Sreenivasan, a native of Poojapura, according to a report in Mathrubhumi. Police have taken into custody the two persons – Santhosh and Gireesh – who were with Sreenivasan at the hotel. The three men had checked into the hotel on Thursday morning and during an argument that broke out, Sreenivasan was allegedly stabbed with a beer bottle by his friends. Hotel staff rushed to the spot on hearing the man’s cries.