Is the humongous hangover Mumbai is battling after yesterday's India-Pak semifinal an indication of things to come on Saturday?
Is the humongous hangover Mumbai is battling after yesterday's India-Pak semifinal an indication of things to come on Saturday?
Insiders at United Breweries, which enjoys over 50% of the beer market share, are hoping for that. They said that fans downed over 2.65 lakh litres of beer at the over 2,750 permit rooms and bars in the city.
"If we add the figures of the sales of the cases from wine shops then this figure will easily cross 4 lakh litres," said a senior manager, in charge of distribution, who has been monitoring the beer market for over a decade.
A sales manager at SAB Miller, the second biggest player in the beer market which owns popular brands like Fosters and Knockout, said, "If we are able to repeat this for the final then we will have completed more than half our annual target in a span of a few days. While it is true that passions run high in an India-Pak match, we are hoping that the fact that Mumbai is hosting the final will bring us good dividends." The hot weather ensured, wine shop owners point out, that post-victory celebrations too saw beer pip other options as the drink of choice. "We had a run on the stocks through the day and had thought things will peter out by the time it was certain India was going to pull it off," said Inderjit Banga, a wine shop owner in Mahim.
And it's just booze sellers laughing their way to the bank. At Mumbai's most famous firework destination along Mohammed Ali Road - Issabhai Fireworks - the costly aerial display fireworks were most in demand. Abdullah Ghiya, one of the managers, said that the buyers will line up on the day of the final for stocks. "Some customers believe it will bring bad luck for the team if they stock up on celebratory stuff beforehand."
The police had a tough time asking the youth to tone it down as they zipped across on motorcycles with huge flags held aloft. "We ourselves are so happy over our win. We are trying to ensure that there is no flare-up due to petty altercations," said the constables posted outside Ismail Yusuf college in
Jogeshwari.
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