Excise dept hopes to garner Rs 2cr from tribal fair

The excise and prohibition department is likely to earn a revenue of above Rs 2 crore in Medaram Sammakka Saralamma Jatara, a biennial tribal fare, in Warangal district.

The department has issued event permits to 22 shops at the venue of the fair for carrying out liquor business between February 15 and February 18. The department is likely to earn Rs 7.39 lakh towards event fee alone.

According to P Sivarama Sastry, Warangal deputy commissioner of prohibition and excise wing , in the 2004 fair, liquor worth Rs 87 lakh was sold through 16 shops. He said the department then had issued temporary licence to 16 shops through the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Eturunagaram.

Anticipating a huge increase in the consumption of liquor this time, event permit system was introduced in place of 'occasional' licensing system, he said.

Each event permit licensee would carry out liquor business for seven days and pay Rs 4,800 a day as fee. At this rate, each shop owner would remit Rs 33,600 for the whole week and the entire revenue for the department would work out to more than Rs 2 crore.

The excise and prohibition wing is opening a temporary sub depot of the AP Breweries Corporation on the eve of 'jathara' and a sub control room would be opened to check illegal sale of country liquor and other alcoholic drinks at the fair.

The prohibition official said the department would press into service 150 state task force personnel to check the illicit flow of liquor from both within the state and neighbouring states.

High spirits

The department has issued event permits to 22 shops at the venue of the fair for carrying out liquor business between February 15 and February 18

It is likely to earn Rs 7.39 lakh towards event fee alone

Each shop owner would remit Rs 33,600 for the whole week and the entire revenue for the department would work out to more than Rs 2 crore