New Telangana govt agenda: 1 bar for every 13K people in Hyderabad

While people of Hyderabad facing insufficient water supply and severe power shortage, and the deficit rainfall is playing havoc with the lives of farmers in TS, the state govt is busy with announcing one bar for every 13K people living in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits.

Notwithstanding with the ongoing protests by various organizations against the government’s decision to open gates for liquor, the State government on Wednesday issued guidelines for sanctioning of bar licences in GHMC limits.

According to guidelines the govt would allow one bar for every 13,000 people in the GHMC limit, while in other municipal corporations and municipalities, one bar would be allowed for every 30,000 people. Apart from the regular bars, the government will continue its policy to grant new bar licences to three-star restaurants and higher category hotels located in GHMC.

Currently, all 13 distr-icts of Telangana have 729 bars fetching the government `514 crore as licence fees.

However, the president of the Telangana Wine Dealers Association, D Venkateshwara Rao said that the govt is keen on promoting cheap liquor as a healthy replacement to Gudumba or illicitly brewed liquor that has often proved fatal.

In case the number of applications for bar licence is more than the permissible number of bars, the selection will be made on the basis of draw of lots among all eligible applicants.