The open lottery process for the distribution of IMFL (foreign liquor) shops for the year 2026-27 in the Excise District was completed on Friday at the District Magistrate’s Office in Bhawanipatna. District Magistrate Pawar Sachin Prakash presided over the lottery. This year, a total of 31 IMFL (Foreign Liquor) shops were notified in the district. Out of these, 842 people applied for 29 shops. No one applied for the remaining 2 shops.
The district received the maximum 104 applications for the Lanjigarh shop, while 98 were submitted for Jayapatna, 68 for Koksara, 67 for Junagarh (1), 63 for Dharmagarh (1), 50 for Bhawanipatna (4), and 45 for Thuamul Rampur. At the end of each phase, the names of the provisionally selected applicants for the respective shops were announced. The license will be issued after verification of the applications and other documents of the selected applicants and payment of the prescribed fee.
All steps were taken to ensure complete transparency and impartiality of the lottery process. Transparency was ensured by video recording. The district magistrate thanked all the applicants, administrative officers, and civil servants for the peaceful and orderly conduct of the lottery process. Additional District Magistrate Tanmay Kumar Darwan, District Civil Service Chairman Ranjan Nayak, and other departmental officers and employees were present on the occasion.
