The auction for liquor shops in Ranga Reddy district was organised at Bandlaguda Excise Academy in Rajendranagar. Liquor shops in the city outskirts were on 'high' demand. A license for a liquor shop in Madhapur was auctioned for Rs 2,07,55,555, the highest bid in the Greater Hyderabad Limits. For a liquor shop license in Kothaguda in Serilingampally, collected Rs 2,02,55,444 and a shop in Bandlaguda fetched Rs 2,01,12,783. Licenses for liquor vendors in Kothapet near Dilsukhnagar and Ramanthapur were also auctioned for over Rs 2 crore.
In Hyderabad, the highest bid was for a liquor shop license on Road Number 3, Banjara Hills. It was auctioned for Rs 1.85 crore and another shop on Road Number 1 fetched Rs 1,77,77,226.
"If someone is spending Rs 2 crore for a license, he/she has to do Rs 1 lakh business per day. Liquor shops on the outskirts are doing really brisk business and that is the reason why licenses are being auctioned for over Rs 2 crore," a senior official of the prohibition and excise department of the Ranga Reddy district said.
It might be clarified that the rush is to capture the liquor market which is 99% of Indian alcohol market. But, the shops will provide an outlet for wines in a small way. The auction prices only indicate the propensity to drink alcohol, in a country where Mahatma Gandhi was anti-alcohol and in favour of prohibition.
In India, liquor shops continue to be nomenclatured as wine shops, where wine may or may not be available |