In four months, 27 lakh bottles of liquor consumed in Hamirpur

Hamirpur, August 17

Boozers consumed over 27 lakh bottles of liquor worth Rs 45 crore in four months in the district till July 31. The liquor vends in the district were auctioned at Rs 112 crore this year, and the state Excise and Taxation Department has to collect this revenue by March 31, 2025.

The department has been successful in collecting over Rs 45 crore so far, and the balance of Rs 67 crore would be collected in the next eight months.

The liquor vends were auctioned with an increase of over seven per cent, and by Rs 8 crore.

There are 150 liquor vends in the district, spread across five subdivisions — Hamirpur, Nadaun, Bhoranj, Barsar and Sujanpur.

As per details, the consumption of country-made liquor, commonly known as ‘desi sharab’, was highest in the total consumption of 27,20,327 bottles of liquor. Boozers consumed 14,95,248 bottles of country liquor, while 6,44,723 bottles of Indian-made foreign liquor of various brands were consumed in the last four months.

People consumed 5,80,356 bottles of beer during the four months.

It is pertinent to note that Rs 45 crore is the revenue share of the government, and the amount spent by drinkers could be much more than the government revenue.

Deputy Commissioner (Excise and Taxation Department) Varun Katoch said the department had collected Rs 45 crore in revenue from wine contractors of the district till July 31. He added that the collection was satisfactory, with some contractors depositing advance payments. He said the department would comfortably collect the auctioned amount by March 31. — OC