Excise dept receives around 57K liquor shop applications in Telangana:

The Prohibition and Excise department has received over 56,935 applications for allotment of liquor shops through a draw of lots. Each application is filed after paying non-refundable fee of Rs.2 lakh.

As Thursday was the last day for receipt of applications, serpentine queues are witnessed across all 34 excise districts. As many as 56,935 applications have been received till 7 pm. In most places, more than 300 to 400 people are still waiting to submit their applications. The process was expected to continue till midnight, officials said.

The liquor shops would be allotted through a draw of lots in the presence of the district Collector concerned on November 20, officials said.

When the last reports came in, the excise officials were sorting out applications to know the total number of forms received for 2,620 shops. On an average, nine applications were received for



each shop.

Khammam district received highest number of applications compared to other districts in the State since it is located between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh border.

Several politicians and business from AP filed applications for opening shops in Khammam district. As many as 5,800 applications were received till 8 pm for 122 notified shops in the district while the department got 1200 applications for the shops in Hyderabad revenue district.

Of the total 2,620 wine shops, reservations were being implemented in 756 shops. Among these, 363 shops were reserved for Goud community, 262 for SCs and 131 for STs. To avail reservations, an applicant has to submit community certificate before submitting the form.

The department is making elaborate arrangements for the smooth conduct of the draw of lots to select a successful applicant to allot the shop.