New Year: The sale of liquor increased exponentially for the new year celebration on December 30 and 31 across Noida and Greater Noida. An Excise department official on Monday informed that liquor worth over Rs 9 crore was sold on December 30 and 31 in the cities.
Gautam Buddh Nagar, adjoining Delhi in western Uttar Pradesh, sold liquor worth nearly Rs 140 crore in December alone, District Excise Officer Rakesh Bahadur Singh told PTI. Of the total liquor sold in December, there were 1.5 lakh cans of beer, 8,900 bottles of foreign liquor, and 2.5 lakhs (250 ml packs) of 'desi' (country-made) liquor, according to the officer.
Liquor worth over 9 crores sold
"Total liquor sold on December 30 and 31 is estimated worth Rs 9 crore while the total liquor sale in the month of December 2022 stood at Rs 139.60 crore. "The total revenue earned for the state exchequer in December was 23 percent higher in 2022 as compared to 2021," Singh said.
Licenses were issued to the bars
The district excise department said there are 98 shops with permanent bar licenses, while another 82 occasional licenses were issued for the new year celebrations. Gautam Buddh Nagar has around 550 liquor shops across Noida and Greater Noida, the officer said.
Delhi Excise Department intensified the raid
Recently, ahead of the new year, the Delhi Excise Department intensified the raids to seize illicit liquor in the city. In the latest raid at the Tagore Garden area, the excise department recovered a total of 1,037 bottles of high-end brands. They seized the bottles from a godown.
An official informed that to keep the entire operation under-cover, the liquor was sold through WhatsApp and delivered to the customer after verification. The Delhi Excise department has recovered liquor from high-end brands such as Glenfiddich, Glenlivit, Black Dog, Chivas Regal, Teachers, Jack Daniels, Bacardi, Absolut, Grey Goose, Jacob Greek, Gold Reserve and Johnnie Walker Black Label.
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