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Norms defied as liquor shops see huge rush in several states

By :  The Federal
Update: 2020-05-04 09:12 GMT

With the central and several state governments easing restrictions during the third phase of lockdown, allowing liquor outlets to open after over a month, many places across India saw a large number of people lining outside the alcohol shops on Monday (May 4), thus leaving no room for social distancing.

On Monday, liquor shops opened in Delhi after a gap of 42 days. The shops were closed due to the restrictions imposed in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Delhi government’s nod to open state-run liquor shops saw people lining up in large numbers outside outlets, with police personnel struggling to manage the crowd. A shop had to be be closed in Mayur Vihar in east Delhi as people failed to maintain social distancing.

According to an official, about 150 government-run liquor shops have been allowed to open from 9 am to 6.30 pm in accordance with the latest lockdown relaxations given by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

In several areas like Burari, Mayur Vihar, Gandhi Vihar, Rohini and Janakpuri, a large number of people had lined up outside outlets. Police personnel were seen trying to manage the crowd outside many outlets where more than five people are not allowed at a given time.

In certain places when people failed to maintain social distancing, police had to lathicharge.

The government has directed four state-run agencies, which are responsible to sell liquor, to deploy adequate marshals at these shops. There are around 850 liquor shops in the city including those run by government agencies and private individuals.

In an order on Sunday night, the excise department also directed officials to identify liquor shops, which are being run by private individuals (L-7 licensee) and fulfill conditions laid down by the MHA. The officials have been asked them to submit a report within three days.

The government has so far allowed only those liquor shops (L-6 and L-8) to operate which are being run by four state-run agencies responsible for liquor sale in the national capital. “All liquor shops in malls and markets will remain closed. The government-run shops allowed will operate from 9 am to 6.30 pm. The four agencies will deploy marshals to ensure that not more than 5 people are present at one time at the shop,” the official said.

The department has asked agencies to coordinate with the local administration and police to maintain law and order. According to the order, bonded warehouses have also been allowed to resume operation from 7 am to 6.30 pm.

The Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation, the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation, the Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited and the Delhi Consumers Cooperative Wholesale Store have been given the permission to open liquor shops in public places, except malls and market complexes.

The agencies will have to give an undertaking stating that liquor shops being allowed to open will fulfil all MHA guidelines, according to the excise department.

Similarly, booze lovers ushered in the resumption of liquor sales in a spirited fashion in Karnataka thronging stores hours before shutters went up at several places and made no secret of their celebratory mood.

At some places, they flocked liquor shops even before day-break and performed “special prayers” with flowers, coconuts,incense sticks, camphor and crackers in front of the stores.

Liquor outlets had been shut from March 25 following the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Excise revenue loss during the period was about ₹2,500 crore, according to government sources. Customers compulsorily wearing of face masks and maintaining social distancing with not more than five people inside liquor shops. Many customers were indeed well-prepared.

At many places, they came with umbrella, raincoat, newspapers and books and queued up as early as 3 am. At a liquor shop in Salegame Road in Hassan, the tipplers lit the traditional lamp and incense sticks, performed aarati with camphor and decorated the store with the garland of flowers.

With folded hands, they all performed special prayers. In Mandya, the tipplers queued up before Martaanda liquor shop before dawn. An hour before the sales were to resume, a few people burst crackers in celebration. Some tipplers in Belagavi were more “enterprising.” They went to a liquor store on Sunday night itself, performed special prayers and placed their “representatives” in the form of slippers, bags and stones in the “social distancing boxes” they themselves had drawn so that they don’t have to stand in queue in the morning.

An elderly woman Dakamma was the centre of attraction in Shivamogga. The bent body did not bend the determination of this spirited lady, claimed to be 96-year-old, who was heard saying “liquor is good for health.”

At the taluk headquarters town of Brahmavara in the coastal Udupi district, the queue of the booze lovers was reported to be almost half-a-kilometre. Long queues were seen at liquor stores at Mariyappana Palyaand K R Puram, among others, in Bengaluru. The store managers too were no less cautious while dealing with customers in the COVID era. They let the customers enter after spraying sanitisers in their hands, and allowed only those who had worn masks and maintained social distancing.

In Chhattisgarh, social distancing norms were flouted outside a liquor shop in Rajnandgaon. The state govt has allowed liquor shops to open in the state from today except for the containment zones.

A day after the Maharashtra government said shops selling non-essential commodities, including liquor, will be allowed to open from Monday, five districts in the state have decided not to permit liquor sale.

Administrations of Solapur, Aurangabad, Jalna, Buldhana and Amravati districts have issued instructions that liquor shops will not be allowed to open. “The decision is taken in adherence to the Disaster Management Act, and to prevent any further spread of the coronavirus infection,” a collector from one of these districts said on Monday.

The Buldhana and Amravati administrations have also decided to continue with prohibition on liquor sale till May 17 and only allow sale of essential commodities, sources said.

Besides, several liquor manufacturing and bottling units located in Aurangabad can resume production, but the district administration has prohibited its sale. The Nagpur civic body has also decided not to allow liquor sale in the city municipal limits, a senior district official said.

It is the civic body’s decision and there are “no such instructions from the Nagpur district collector, which would mean liquor sale is prohibited in the city limits but allowed in rural areas,” he said. Liquor is a major source of revenue for Maharashtra, which earned about ₹45,000 crore in the form of taxes on it in 2019-20, an official from state excise department said.

However, this has also led to a meme-fest on social media, leaving netizens criticising people for the emerging videos on internet.

(With inputs from agencies)

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