Preparations For Onam Celebrations In Kerala

Preparations for Onam celebrations in Kerala, liquor worth 117 crores sold in just 1 day.

According to the data of Kerala’s State Beverages Corporation ‘Bevco’, a day before Thiruonam, the sale of liquor worth 117 crores has been registered across Kerala.

During the festive season in the last two years, the Covid-19 pandemic had hampered the sale of liquor.

Last year, a day before Thiruonam, sales on Uthradam reached 85 crores. Bevco released the liquor sales data on Friday.

According to a news agency, the first week of Onam saw record liquor sales of Rs 624 crore as compared to last year’s liquor sale of Rs 529 crore, according to Bevco data on Friday.

This year Thiruonam was declared a holiday for Bevco outlets, so people bought stock in advance. Due to which the sales increased.

A spokesman of the corporation said that total revenue of more than 700 crores is expected from the ten-day festive season. The data about this will come out only after September 11.

Preparations for Onam celebrations: Liquor and lotteries are among the major sources of revenue for Kerala.

According to state data, Kerala gets an average annual revenue of Rs 14,000 crore from liquor and Rs 10,000 crore from the lottery for the last few years.

Taxes on liquor in the state are very high. A bottle of rum made at a cost of Rs.100-150 is sold at Bevco outlets for Rs.600-800.

Kerala state’s per capita alcohol consumption is 8.5 liters as against the national average of 5.7 liters.

According to last year’s National Family Health Survey (NFHS), at least 18.7% of men in rural areas and 21% of men in urban areas drink alcohol.

Long queues in front of Bevco outlets are a common practice in the state throughout the year.

In 2021, the Kerala High Court pulled up the state government for this and ordered it to provide proper outlets and facilities for those buying liquor.

Later, Bevco tried to set up a system of home delivery for liquor. But it was closed after protests by prohibition activists and the church.