Renew toddy shops' licences, demands TRS

HYDERABAD: The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) has urged the government to renew the licences of the 53 toddy shops which were cancelled for allegedly selling adulterated toddy.
TRS president K Chandrashekhar Rao said on Thursday the government was trying to pamper the Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) businessmen at the cost of the toddy business, which is the livelihood of nearly one crore people in the Telangana region.
Licences were cancelled for 29 shops in Rangareddy district and 24 in the twin cities. He alleged that the government received kickbacks from IMFL manufacturers to close down the toddy business.
Rao said that the discrepancies in the tax system was encouraging toddy shops to resort to adulteration.
"The tax on a palm tree is Rs 11 in Nalgonda district while it is Rs 530 in Hyderabad," he said. The TRS chief also condemned the government''s action of arresting MLA J Kishen Rao for questioning the APTransco officials for resorting to forcible collection of power dues.