GUWAHATI: During the last three days of Durga Puja this year, that is October 22, 23 and 24, Guwahati sold liquor worth over ₹22 crore.
The Excise Department has revealed that the total revenue generated from liquor sales during this festive occasion amounted to approximately ₹22.5 crore.
The amount has risen significantly. As per reports, in 2022, during Durga Puja, Guwahati sold liquor worth ₹16.80 crore on October 1, 3 and 4, 2022. October 2 and 5 were declared dry days during the Durga Puja, with the two dates coinciding with Gandhi Jayanti and Dashami.
Only a week ago, the Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, addressed the media in Guwahati confirming that it will be difficult to declare 'dry day' during Durga Puja. In response to questions regarding the potential imposition of dry days during the puja festivities, the Chief Minister expressed concerns that such restrictions could inadvertently fuel black market activities.
As per the data procured from the Excise Department, till November 30, 2022, Guwahati had consumed 1,42,82,618. 6455 litres of liquor.
The total amount of Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) and beer consumed from January through November 2021 (excluding December, for which data has not yet been tallied) is just over 10,200,419 London Proof Litres (LPL) and 66,32,304 Bulk Litres (BL), respectively.
For context, in the first eleven months of 2022, Guwahati consumed over 76,50,314.3775 litres of IMFL and more than 66,32,304.268 litres of beer, which is around 1.42 crore litres overall. In the first eleven months of 2021, roughly 126 lakh litres were consumed by residents of Guwahati.