Lucknow: Liquor business in Uttar Pradesh is lucrative which is evident from the fact that over 20,000 applications were received for allotment of 449 retail shops.
The online lottery draws for 449 new liquor shops were held across 53 districts in the state on Tuesday.
The Excise Department received 20,744 applications for the 449 retail shops through which beer, Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) and country liquor will be sold.
On an average, for every liquor vend that had been floated, 46 applicants were in the fray and submitted the documents required along with a minimum amount of Rs 30,000 that was charged as non-refundable processing fees.
As a result, the coffers of the state through the latest lottery got richer by Rs 66.18 crore.
Stiff competition was witnessed among the entrepreneurs in Lucknow, where 23 new shops had been floated and a total of 2,082 applications had been submitted.
Within the city, a maximum number of contenders were in the fray to bag the beer and IMFL shop at sector G in Sushant Golf City (Ansal) for which 123 and 118 forms had been received respectively.
In the state, the beer shop at Roja Yakubpur in Greater Noida was the one which generated the highest response, with 341 applicants showing interest.
Interestingly, the two foreign liquor shops in Ballia, the district located at the border of Bihar where consumption of liquor is prohibited, also witnessed strong competition as more than 240 applicants lined up to buy the two liquor vends.
For now, no more shops will be introduced in the state, said Lucknow District Excise Officer S K Mishra.
“The new shops have been introduced to cater to the growing urban population. Villages that were on the outskirts have attracted a lot of migrant workers,” he said.
–IANS
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