This story is from November 16, 2016

More hotels get bar and beer licences

Though the government is yet to declare its Abkari policy, the excise department has given its clearance for one more bar hotel and two more beer and wine parlours in the state.
More hotels get bar and beer licences
(Representative image)
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Though the government is yet to declare its Abkari policy, the excise department has given its clearance for one more bar hotel and two more beer and wine parlours in the state.
While bar licence was granted to Hotel Dewland in Kodanad in Ernakulam, two hotels under the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) at Thanneermukkam near Cherthala and Palaruvi in Kollam, were given beer and wine licences.

With this, the total number of bar hotels in the state has increased to 30 while that of beer and wine shops has reached 815. The number of beer and wine parlours under the KTDC has increased to 37 with the two new additions.
There were 30 bar hotels earlier but the licences of two bars-one in Kochi and another one Kozhikode-had expired after both the hotels failed to renew their five-star classification. Later, the licence of the hotel in Kozhikode was reinstated. More applications for bar and beer and wine licences were pending before the ex cise department. Sources said there were at least 11 applications for beer and wine licenses and two applications seeking bar licences pending before the government.
It is learnt that the government is yet to decide on granting licences to four-star and three-star bar hotels.
The government cannot make any compromise on the decision to deny licences for the 418 bar hotels which were shut down on the basis of the Supreme Court order, said tax department sources. Most of these bar hotels now function as beer and wine parlours and are doing a fair deal of busi ness after the closure of the bar hotels. However, once the government decides to grant licences for three and four star hotels, the hotels that run the beer and wine parlours are likely to cry foul. “So, the decision on granting licenses for four star or three star hotels is not an easy one to make,“ sources said.
The government has declared it was not planning to continue with the previous government's abkari policy . It has already decided to scrap the UDF government's resolution to close 10% of Bevco and Consumerfed liquor outlets in the state every year.
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