Couples, friends, and drivers strike lucky in Telangana liquor shop draw
TELANGANA: The allotment of liquor shops through lottery across Telangana on Monday saw several surprises from couples and friends to an auto driver turning into a wine shop owner. Officials completed the allocation of 2,601 liquor outlets for the 2025–27 period under tight CCTV monitoring and video recording.
In Sangareddy district, Rajeshwar Goud hit a hat-trick, bagging three outlets Shop Nos. 1, 3, and 8 through the lucky draw. Another applicant, Vamshidhar Reddy of Patancheru, who reportedly submitted over 100 applications, also secured three shops. Bhupathi Reddy, another local, received three outlets as well.
Couples win twin licences in Suryapet, Narsampet
In Suryapet, Elikatti Bharat and his wife Shravani from Lakshmidevigudem village, Vemulapally mandal, bagged two liquor outlets Shop No. 21 for Bharat and Shop No. 13 for Shravani. Similarly, in Narsampet, Warangal district, long-time liquor traders Rajeshwar Rao and Sambalakshmi won one shop each Shop No. 5 in Narsampet and Shop No. 38 in Atmakur.
Auto driver becomes liquor trader
In Warangal’s Rangashaipet area, auto driver Annapuram Sai Kumar, along with five friends, pooled ₹3 lakh and won the bid for Shop No. 19 near the local labour adda. The group had jointly applied for several shops.
Family, friends share the luck
In Tirumalagiri of Suryapet district, three members of one family retired employee Uppalam Mallayya, his son Naveen, and daughter-in-law Srujana each won a shop in different mandals.
In Karimnagar, brothers-in-law Srinivas Goud and Krishna Goud won shops in Asifnagar and Bawupet respectively.
In Narayankhed, three friends secured one shop each in Tadkal, Manur, and Karasgutti.
Women among top winners
Nirmal district resident Gurrala Harika, who had no prior link to liquor trade, became an overnight sensation after she won two shops — at Laxmanchanda and Ponakal in the same draw. Kamareddy district also saw strong participation by women, with 12 out of 49 shops going to female applicants, including two from Andhra Pradesh.
Low response in 19 shops, fresh draw on November 3
A total of 2,620 shops were notified, but only 2,601 were allotted. Nineteen shops received fewer than the minimum required applications including seven in Kumram Bheem Asifabad, six in Adilabad, two in Jayashankar Bhupalpally, three in Shamshabad, and one in Sangareddy.
Officials said fresh notifications for these would be issued on Tuesday, applications accepted until November 1, and draws held on November 3.
Government earns ₹2,854 crore from fees
According to the Prohibition and Excise Department, 95,137 applications were received for the 2,620 outlets. At ₹3 lakh each as application fee, the government earned ₹2,854 crore. Commissioner C Harikiran praised district officials for completing the process smoothly without any untoward incident.
Meanwhile, in Mahbubnagar, controversy erupted after a government physical education teacher, Pushpa, won a liquor shop licence. The district education officer said a probe was ordered since government employees are barred from commercial activity under civil service rules.
