Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Jul 29: After coronavirus infection shook coastal Karnataka, sale of liquor has come down in coastal districts. After the lockdown which was in force during the corona first and second wave, the liquor sale that had dwindled never picked up.

During the lockdown, liquor sale was permitted only between 9 am and 6 pm and therefore, sale of liquor was not up to the expected level. As many sectors stopped functioning, people dependent on them did not have money for liquor. Weekend curfew delivered further blow. Normally, highest liquor sale happens at the shops near the Kerala border but because the border was sealed, liquor sales did not pick up, say officials. Moreover, as functions including marriage functions were permitted on a minimum scale, liquor sales dropped.

As bars, pubs and hotels were closed, wine shops did brisk business. Some smaller wine stores suffered because of less stock. Migrant workers returned to their native places and people, out of corona fear, did not prefer cold beer, the officials say. Beer sales have decreased by 40 per cent. Bindushree, deputy commissioner of excise department, Dakshina Kannada, hopes that the sale will pick up in the coming months.