Chandigarh, May 23 -- The UT excise and taxation department saw lukewarm response to its ongoing e-auctions of liquor vends, with only two of the 12 vends up for bidding sold on Thursday.

The department successfully allotted vends in Sector 22 and Mauli Jagran Colony during the seventh round of e-auction, generating Rs.7.76 crore in revenue. The remaining 10 unsold vends will be re-auctioned soon.

Earlier, on May 19, only one vend was sold, earning Rs.4.50 crore against a reserve price of Rs.4.38 crore.

Out of a total of 97 liquor vends, 87 have been auctioned so far. The department expects to earn over Rs.600 crore this year from these auctions - a 50% increase from last year. So far, it has earned approximately Rs.534 crore, compared...