Goa's beer stocks drying up before dry days

Goa's stocks of beer all over the state is expected to dry up by around Friday, 18th April 2009, a good 5 days before the Lok Sabha election date in Goa which is on 23rd April. The shortfall is expected as a result of the strict enforcement of regulations by the election authorities on the sale of liquor leading to a protest which culminated into a shut-down by wholesale distributors and dealers of liquor all over the state of Goa.

Limited stocks of Beer is all that is left over in all the pubs and bars in Goa which would suffice another 4-5 days and with the season of Lent coming to an end last Sunday, the demand is expected to go up with no stocks left to serve the customers.

However the stocks of hard liquor is expected to withstand the onslaught of the shutdown and it is only Beer which is predicted to be suddenly turning into a rare commodity in Goa. Tourism is likely to be affected the worst with this shutdown as tourists normally love beer in this sun drenched beach destination of Goa.

The Beach shacks have also been caught unawares on the shutdown and although the foreign tourist is on the decline in April, the stocks left in the shacks will be run out soon.

Wine stores in the cities of Goa have been completely shut down leading to disappointment among Indian tourists who flock in buses and vehicles to buy stocks but had to face the brunt of the shutdown in Goa.

Revenue losses to the government of Goa is expected to be a big pinch due to the shutdown and already the government is believed to have lost around 7-8 lakhs in revenues alone till date, due to the shutdown.

Meanwhile the association members maintained that it is difficult to maintain daily sales registers of stocks and therefore they had no other option but to shutdown their wholesale shops to avoid the ire of the excise authorities and the election commission. The wholesalers were not willing to take the risk of cancelling of their permits and licences due to the contraventions which may be pointed out by excise authorities during inspections.