As part of the new Abkari policy of the Kerala government, 39 foreign-liquor retail outlets will be closed from October 2. Excise minister K Babu informed that 34 outlets of Kerala State Beverages Corporation (Bevco) and five outlets of the Kerala State Co-operative Consumers Federation (Consumerfed) will be closed down.
The new policy announced in September assures closure of 10 per cent of the total outlets in each year. The policy outlines total prohibition in the state by 2024 by closing all outlets of Bevco and Consumerfed. Bevco has 340 outlets and Consumerfed runs 49 retail shops across the state. Earlier, Chandy said he was not bothered about the “considerable loss” of revenue from sales of spirits, but said the social loss was "10 times more than that."
