Kerala Spent Nearly ₹500 Crore On Alcohol This Onam

Thiruvananthapuram: Who said economy is slowing down? At least not in Kerala. Liquor sales through Kerala State Beverages Corporation (KSBC) outlets during the first week of Onam festivities this year touched a whopping Rs 487 crore.

According to figures released by KSBC, the sale through the corporation outlets during the corresponding period last year was Rs 457 crore. The sales on Uthradom (Sept 10) alone was Rs 90.32 crore – an increase of Rs 2.24 crore.

The highest sale on September 10 was in an outlet in Irinjalakuda with a sale of Rs 1.44 crore. It’s for the second consecutive time the shop topped in Uthradom sales. Last year, liquor worth Rs 1.22 crore was sold through this outlet.

It is not just liquor. Milma (Kerala Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation) sold record milk and curd during Onam this year — 46.6 lakh litre of milk and 5.89 lakh litre of curd in the state on just two days of Onam festival. This is an all-time record.

The demand was so high that the milk procured from dairy farmers and milk cooperatives in Kerala was insufficient to meet the requirement. Milma had to buy milk from Karnataka Milk Federation, the milk cooperative institution in the neighboring state, at a higher price.

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