Allotment of licence for 48 liquor shops held up
The Hindu
Draw of lots held across 33 districts
The draw of lots to allot 2,572 out of 2,620 notified liquor shops for the license period over next two years was held on Saturday in all the 33 districts.
The process was held up in the case of 48 shops in 18 districts as the number of applications received for them was lower than the prescribed minimum of 10, raising suspicion that the applicants may have formed cartels. The Excise department initiated an inquiry and a decision on conducting another round of lottery for the auction of the licences for these shops is likely to be taken up on Monday, sources said.
The lots were conducted in the presence of district collectors at a centralised venue for all the shops in each of the 33 districts. Over 67,000 applications were received for the shops which generated a non-refundable application money of ₹ 1,357 crore to the government.
The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.