Liquor gets pricey in city as Amraiwadi supply line chokes

The recent busting of gangs and heightened police vigilance in Amraiwadi have forced gangsters, bootleggers and their henchmen to shift their base, at least for the time being, to other areas of the city. The development has spiked price of liquor in other areas.

Many bootleggers have changed their base from Amraiwadi to areas like Bapunagar, Odhav and Gomtipur following the recent police crackdown. Liquor dens in these areas have increased price of booze even by 100%. This is the direct fallout of most of the bootleggers in Amraiwadi and surrounding areas not getting delivery of liquor.

A bootlegger, on the condition of anonymity, told DNA that the recent vigilance of the police in the area has forced them to stop their trade temporarily. "I have had to cut my sales to only 25% or 20% due to the increased police pressure in the area," he said. "Wholesalers of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) have stopped delivery in this area," he rued.

The bootleggers who have been selling IMFL in Amraiwadi area are the ones who take the risk of bringing the IMFL from nearby areas like Sardarnagar or Gomtipur.

However, a 'drying' Amraiwadi area has meant more business for bootleggers of Sardarnagar and Gomtipur.  Booze prices in these twin localities, believed to be the next biggest centre of the illegal IMFL trade, have almost doubled. "A bottle of whisky, which was sold at Rs350 in Gomtipur, is now selling at Rs700 to 800," the source said.

The source added that in Sardarnagar and Gomtipur, there are some influential bootleggers who are still managing to get a free flow of IMFL and have not been booked so far in any case. The source told DNA that the bootleggers in these areas had tripled the price of every brand and bottle.