IndiaHyderabad, May 6 () Tipplers thronged liquor shops inlarge numbers as sale of alcoholic beverages resumed inTelangana after over a month long hiatus due to the COVID-19lockdown while 11 fresh cases of the infection were reportedon Wednesday.
More number of people were seen on the city roads andalso at some ATMs compared to the previous days during theongoing lockdown as most wine shops reported brisk sales amidvigil by the police and implementation of social distancingand other precautions. Customers formed serpentine queues even before theshutters went up as the government allowed sale of liquor atmore than 2,000 shops across the state with guidelines,including maintaining social distance and wearing of facemasks while also increasing the prices by 16 per cent. Shops in coronavirus containment zones will, however,remain closed. Telangana is the latest to join the list of states,including neighbouring Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, whichhave allowed sale of liquor that remained out of bounds forthe tipplers during the first two phases of lockdown.
The state clocks around Rs 20,000 crore revenue annuallyfrom liquor business, including licence fee. "I was waiting for this day... I would not mind the pricehike. This time I will get sufficient stocks," a buyer said atone of the shops here.
State Excise minister Srinivas Goud said he visitedseveral outlets here and all of them were following thegovernment guidelines such as wearing masks and maintainingphysical distances.
On Wednesday, 11 fresh cases of COVID-19 were confirmed,taking the number of people infected by the virus in the stateto 1,107.
No fresh death occurred and the toll due to the virusremained at 29, a COVID-19 bulletin said. It said 20 people were cured/discharged on Wednesday,taking the total recoveries to 648. The number of people undergoing treatment in hospitals(active cases) stood at 430. All the 11 fresh cases were from the Greater HyderabadMunicipal Corporation (GHMC) area, according to the bulletin. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday askedofficials to focus more on Hyderabad and its surroundingareas, where the new COVID-19 cases are being reported. He directed that effective and strict measures beimplemented to contain the spread of the virus. Rao, who held a meeting with Health Minister E Rajenderand officials on COVID-19 containment and implementation oflockdown, told the officials to be on alert in villagesbordering Guntur and Kurnool districts of Andhra Pradesh inview of the rampant spread of the virus there. Meanwhile, in continuing evacuation, around 14,000migrant workers left Telangana and Andhra Pradesh fordifferent states in 13 special trains. While 11 trains left Telangana, two originated in AndhraPradesh during the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesdayand were headed to Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand,Rajasthan and Maharashtra, a South Central Railway officialsaid. The railways had been running ''Shramik Special'' trainssince May 1 for ferrying the migrant workers at the request ofstates. Earlier, over 2,000 migrant workers were sent to theirhome states from Telangana in two special trains, includingthe first special to be operated from Lingampalli here toHatia in Jharkhand on May 1, after the Centre eased thelockdown norms and allowed their movement. Speaking after a meeting of the state cabinet on Tuesdaynight, Rao had announced extension of lockdown in the statetill May 29 beyond May 7, the earlier phase. Six districts in the state are in red zone but threedistricts (except Hyderabad, Medchal and Ranga Reddy) may moveout of the red zone in the next few days, he had said. SJRGDK VVKVS VS