Wine merchants vow to halt liquor sales on Nov 20; Karnataka hotels oppose

Bengaluru: The Federation of Wine Merchants’ Association, Karnataka, on Thursday pledged to go ahead with its plan to halt liquor sales across the state on November 20 over “rampant corruption” in the Excise Department and the government’s “failure” to heed its demands.

However, the Karnataka State Tourism Hotel Owners’ Association has refused to follow the Federation’s decision.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Federation president S Guruswamy and general secretary B Govindaraj reiterated their demand that the Excise Department be merged with the Finance Department.

They also denied sending a viral email, which alleged a cash-for-transfer scam in the Excise Department. “The email was written by an RTI activist. It is unfortunate that this issue has taken a political turn,” Guruswamy said.

The Association also demanded that the chief minister call a meeting to resolve their issues and take action to curb corruption in the Excise Department.

Other demands include a guarantee to raise the profit margin on retail liquor sales to 20 per cent, allowing alcohol consumption in CL-2 licensees (retail shops), setting up additional counters in CL9 licensees (bars and restaurants) and a provision for alcohol takeaways. The Association claims to represent 11,500 shops and 1,000 MSIL shops across Karnataka.

Opposition from tourism hotels

Govinda Koulagi, secretary of the Karnataka State Tourism Hotel Owners’ Association, accused the Wine Merchants’ Association of “unilaterally” announcing the decision to halt liquor sales on November 20, without consulting them.

“We have invested huge amounts of money to pay our workers and run up huge debts. We also pay an exorbitant annual fee. This should be reduced and we must get 20 per cent of the profit,” Koulagi told DH.

The Association claims to represent about 2,000 tourism hotels across Karnataka.

Koulagi also noted that the sale of liquor and food should be permitted round the clock. Currently, the government permits only eateries to stay open until 1 am.

The Association also called for reducing GST, property tax, electricity and water charges.