From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore

Bangalore, Sep 6: Cheers! Tipplers across the State can down an additional peg or two if Karnataka’s Excise Minister M P Renukacharya implements his plans to issue another 3,000 licenses for opening new liquor shops in different parts of the State.

The reason given by the Minister for the government’s latest move is to ''check sale of liquor at higher prices in remote areas and also bring more revenue to the State."

Renukacharya said there was a lot of demand from customers in remote areas of the State for having liquor shops as existing shop owners were selling liquor at above maximum retail prices (MRP) rates as according to them, more liquor shops would force the vendors to at least sell the liquor at the MRP.

''A final decision on issuing new licenses would be taken after consultation with officials first and later with Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda," he said as no licenses were given to open liquor shop for the last 19 years.

Several shops were closed following ban on sale of arrack and people had to depend on the existing shops and pay the rates for their brand of booze at the whims of the shop-owners.

Currently, 8,300 shops have been given licenses to sell liquor across the State.

''Opening of more shops would not only check sale of liquor at higher prices but also bring more revenue to the State," the minister said.

The Excise Department has asked Mysore Sales International Limited (MSIL) to open 463 shops and it had already opened 251 shops.

Ban on sale of arrack by the H D Kumaraswamy government led increase in the demand for Indian Made Liquor. Protests from women organisations and women-led self-help groups forced closure of 15,000 arrack shops in rural areas of the State, he said.

The State has recorded sale of 179.47 lakh IML cases during April-July this year against 173.18 lakh cases during the same period last year, an increase of 6.25 lakh cases.

The sale of beer was recorded at 81.64 lakh cases against 75.88 lakh cases in April-July, an increase of 5.76 lakh cases.

The Minister chaired a meeting of technical committee formed to allotment of rectified spirit for various companies and said various distilleries in the State have been producing 27 crore litres of spirit annually.

A total of 19 crore litres of spirit was being used for manufacture of liquor and four crore litres for blending with ethanol.