Liquor vends double in Punjab in 11 yrs: 5,632 to 12,000!

Punjab has witnessed an over two-fold increase in the number of liquor vends, from 5,632 in 2005-06 to 12,000 in 2016-17, a non-government organisation, ArriveSAFE, stated in a release here. Citing details it received under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the NGO president Harman Singh Sidhu said that the sale and consumption of liquor witnessed an unprecedented jump in Punjab as compared to many other states.

Punjab has witnessed an over two-fold increase in the number of liquor vends, from 5,632 in 2005-06 to 12,000 in 2016-17, a non-government organisation, ArriveSAFE, stated in a release here. Citing details it received under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the NGO president Harman Singh Sidhu said that the sale and consumption of liquor witnessed an unprecedented jump in Punjab as compared to many other states.

Citing details it received under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the NGO president Harman Singh Sidhu said that the sale and consumption of liquor witnessed an unprecedented jump in Punjab as compared to many other states. (HT Photo)

“Now dotting every nook and corner of Punjab, liquor vends have witnessed a two-fold increase in past decade, and the target revenue of the state’s excise department in these years has increased nearly four times from Rs 1,506 crore in 2005-06 to Rs 5,440 crore in 2016-2017,” the NGO stated.