Hyderabad: The Telangana Prohibition and Excise Department’s decision to extend the deadline for liquor shop licence applications till October 23 has raised strong objections from several applicants, with many planning to move the court.

As per the original schedule, the last date for submission was October 18. However, the department extended it by five days after receiving requests from a few officials.

Applicants allege that the extension is sudden and unfair to those who submitted their forms on time.

According to them, a considerable amount of time, effort and money has been spent to file applications before the original deadline. They also allege that the department’s focus seems to be on revenue generation rather than transparency.

The Excise Department has stated that the extension was given following requests from district officials in Rangareddy, Warangal, Nizamabad, Mahabubnagar and Medak, who cited disruptions in public transport and banking services due to the Telangana BC bandh on Saturday.