Lucknow, Jan 2 (IANS): To wave goodbye to the past and welcome the future, Uttar Pradesh tipplers guzzled down a whopping 50 lakh litres of liquor on New Year's eve, an official citing excise department records said here on Wednesday.

The official said the sales were recorded on New Year's eve and that the details of the first day of 2019 were being collected.

Statistics reveal that the sales on December 31 almost doubled at liquor vends. It does not, however, include liquor consumed by people stocking up alcohol at homes or in hotels.

On New Year's eve, 31 lakh litres of countryside 'desi' liquor was sold as well.

Statistics again show that 18 lakh bottles of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) were sold and the sale of beer touched a staggering 23 lakh bottles.

Excise officials told IANS that the sales this year recorded a surge, bettering the record set during New Year's eve last year.

According to excise department data, every year liquor sales shoot up on Holi and New Year's eve.

Statistics also show that on an average, 1.60 crore bottles of IMFL and 2.9 crore bottles of beer are sold every month.