Kerala witnessed a substantial fall in liquor sale following the Supreme Court directive which banned liquor outlets within 500 metres radius of national and state highways.
According to the study by Alcohol & Drug Information Centre (ADIC)-India, an NGO working against alcoholism, during the month of April, liquor sales declined by Rs 106 crore when compared to last year. Last year in April, Kerala Beverages Corporation registered sales worth Rs 1078 crore. But this April, the liquor sale revenue was Rs 972 crore.
The sales have dropped by 30.34%. According to a press release by ADIC-India director Johnson J Edayaranmula, IMFL sales dropped by 7.99%, while beer sales went down by 53.52% and wine sales dipped by 43.52%.
The statement has urged the state government to consider the positive outcome of SC order rather than thinking about the monetary loss.
Earlier state Finance Minister Thomas Isaac had said that with the new SC order, the state would face a revenue loss of Rs 4,000 crore to Rs 5,000 crore.
Last year, Kerala had earned a revenue of Rs 9,800 crore from liquor sales.
At present, Beverages corporation has 175 outlets and plans to open 100 more, as many of them have closed down following the SC order.
Relocation of Beverages outlets away from highways was delayed following stiff opposition from the residents of the area.
After SC judgement, 1,956 liquor sales outlets, beer/wine parlors, toddy shops and bars attached to five-star hotels and clubs were closed down.
This included 11 FL-3 licensees (bar hotels), 586 FL-11licensees (beer and wine parlours), 207 FL-1 licensees (Bevco and Consumerfed outlets), 18 clubs and 1132 toddy shops, The Times of India reports.