Andhra Pradesh reports liquor sale worth 68.7 crore on first day of re-opening shops
Andhra Pradesh reported liquor sale worth 68.70 crore accross the state on Monday after authorities allowed sale of liquor amid lockdown. The state has 3,500 total outlets, of which 2,300 were operational on Monday. Acting against those violating social distancing norms, excise authorities closed 15 outlets for further sale.
Liquor stores in the state saw serpentine queues and huge crowds on Monday, violating physical distance norms in many cases. Shops were allowed to open up everywhere except in containment clusters.
The sales took place despite the state hiked liquor prices by 75% in a bid to discourage consumption after objections were raised.
Andhra Pradesh reports liquor sale worth 68.7 crore on first day of re-opening shops
Government also decided to further increase liquor price in the state. An additional hike of 50% on MRP was announced on Tuesday. Earlier the government on Sunday had announced 25% price hike.
The coastal city of Visakhapatnam has 35 cases while Andhra Pradesh on Monday reported a total of 67 new coronavirus cases. The total cases in the state touched the 1,650-mark. The death toll touched 33 on Monday. Kurnool has the highest 491 cases followed by Guntur 338 and Krishna 278 cases.
