Booze lovers celebrate as contractors clear stock

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, March 29

It’s celebration time for booze lovers in the city as contractors have slashed the prices of liquor to clear old stock by March 31.

The owners have put up banners of slashed rates in front of their shops to attract customers. 

There are liquor vends, which are selling country-made liquor bottles for Rs 100 or Rs 50 each as compared to its actual price of Rs 200.

A visit to liquor vends showed that there was little craze for beer and residents bought Indian and country-made liquor in bulks.

A liquor contractor said the contractors who were not interested in getting contracts of liquor vends for the next year were more eager to clear their stock.

Satbir Singh, a city resident, said it was always a party time near March 31 when liquor prices were slashed but this year, it was more than that as the state government had announced that liquor rates would be hiked by 5-10 per cent.

Another youngster Jaspal lashed out at the state government as he said prices of liquor in Chandigarh and other states were very low 

but there was no check on the prices in Punjab due to which it was expensive.