As per data from the excise department, 3.04 crore liquor bottles were sold in the last 18 days leading up to Diwali amounting to sales worth Rs 525.84 crore. In the same period before the festival last year, 2.11 crore bottles were sold.
The peak festival season this year started from October 20 with four days of Durga Puja celebrations; the month also had three dry days on Gandhi Jayanti, Dussehra, and Valmiki Jayanti.