Chandigarh: 17th round of liquor vend auction gets no bids

In the 17th round of auctions held on Friday, despite reducing the reserve price by more than 50%, no bidders came forward

Two months into the new financial year, the UT excise and taxation department is still struggling to auction 18 of the 95 liquor vends in the city.

Last year, three out of the 96 vends on offer had remained unsold after seven rounds of auctions. (HT Photo)

In the 17th round of auctions held on Friday, despite reducing the reserve price by more than 50%, no bidders came forward. This marks the fourth consecutive auction where the department couldn’t attract any bidders. The first auction was held on March 15.

Last year, three out of the 96 vends on offer had remained unsold after seven rounds of auctions.

A senior officer from the department stated, “Since we haven’t been able to find any buyers in the past four auctions, we will be holding a meeting with senior officers to decide on the next course of action.”

Darshan Singh Kler, the owner of Kler Wines, who purchased six liquor vends in the first auction on March 15, said the department should stop auctioning the vends now and focus on those already allotted. “It’s difficult to understand why they are still involved in this futile exercise,” he quipped.