Liquor prices slashed in Andhra Pradesh to curb smuggling

VIJAYAWADA: In an attempt to curb smuggling of liquor, as suggested by the Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB), the state government on Thursday reduced the prices of liquor sold at its outlets. The cut in the prices was almost what it had increased on May 3. The new prices will come into effect from Friday.
In a fresh order, the government attributed the slash in the prices of liquor to increased smuggling of booze from neighbouring states.It may be recalled that the government had increased liquor prices three times in the past — on October 1 last year, May 4 and May 5 — “to reduce consumption of liquor in a phased manner”.
The government had said that the hike in prices had led to a drastic fall in liquor consumption. The government also proposed to initiate a campaign to discourage liquor consumption and open de-addiction centres across the state. Besides smuggling, the SEC also reported to the government on the increasing deaths caused by consumption of illicit liquor and sanitizer in the state.
Interestingly, the government has not reduced the prices of low-cost brands, which were increased by Rs 20 in May. The justification that the government gave for the non-reduction in prices of low-cost brands is that the smuggling of these bottles has been negligible in the last five months.
The SEB said the smuggling of medium price brands increased several times in the last five months leading to the cut in the prices of those brands to prevent smuggling. It was for this reason that the price of the medium and high cost brands has been reduced.