Closure of BevCo, the state-owned agency for supplying liquor in the state would pose a greater threat than Coronavirus outbreak, said Kerala Co-Operation, Tourism and Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran. The statement came as he was talking to the media.
Four persons in the state have already been shifted to the deaddiction Center, he said adding that more number of people are in need of medical support. He also expressed concern over the number adding that the matter was clear after the review meeting held in the morning. Kadamkapalli said that he is afraid that this would lead to a new social problem and that this is the concern shared by health workers.
Though the state had declared lockdown before it was announced countrywide, it was just after vehement criticism from the opposition Congress-led UDF and BJP, the Left Front government in Kerala decided to close down all outlets of state-run beverage corporations selling alcohol. This closure was applied to 265 liquor outlets of the Kerala State Beverages Corporation, across the 14 districts.
A major chunk of the state government’s revenue comes from beverage sales. The total annual turnover of liquor sales in Kerala during 2018-19 reached an all-time high of Rs 14,508 crore and the revenue of the government from state excise was Rs 2,521 crore.
Discussion about this post