Festive 'Spirit': At 3.87 crore bottles, pre-Diwali liquor sales set new high in Delhi

NEW DELHI: Liquor sales in the national Capital in the fortnight leading to Diwali set a record with over 3.87 crore bottles sold, mopping up a revenue of Rs 447.62 crore for the excise department of Delhi government, officials said on Saturday.

From October 15 to October 30, a whopping 3.87 crore bottles were sold from the liquor stores run by four corporations of Delhi government, including 2.98 crore bottles of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and 89.48 lakh beer bottles, official figures showed.

Diwali celebrated on October 31 was a 'dry day', meaning all liquor stores were closed across the city on that day.

On Diwali eve on October 30, a total of 33.80 lakh bottles were sold, yielding a revenue of Rs 61.56 crore, according to the data.

As compared to last year, 1.18 crore more bottles were sold in the fortnight leading to Diwali this year, from 2.69 crore in 2023 to 3.87 crore this time.