Closed vends in Punjab leave bacchus lovers flustered

Chief minister’s chief principal secretary Suresh Kumar said liquor contractors have sought three days to open vends

Punjab was among the first states to ask the Centre to allow it to open liquor vends in view of fund crunch, but no liquor vend was open on day one of the lockdown 3.0 on Monday. The liquor vends will not open in the state before Thursday. Chief minister’s chief principal secretary Suresh Kumar said liquor contractors have sought three days to open vends. “Since there was curfew in the state since March 23, new contracts have been signed today. They are doing closing for the previous financial year, taking new stocks and will be ready by Wednesday,” he said. Chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh had last month written to Union home minister Amit Shah to seeking opening of liquor vends, stating that his government would lose state excise of more than ₹500 crore a month during lockdown.

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Bacchus lovers were a dejected lot as they made rounds of the vends in anticipation. “When liquor vends can open in Chandigarh, why not in Punjab,” said a Mohali resident.

Bathinda assistant excise and taxation commissioner R K Malhotra said that since the liquor vends will be opened for the first time in new financial year so there will stock verification to allow new allottees to open the vends. Even in district like Bathinda where traders have got renew their licence and will continue to run the business, stocks will have to be checked before opening the vends.

Deputy excise and taxation commissioner, Faridkot, Tejbir Singh Sidhu, said there was no communication from higher ups for opening of the liquor vends.

A liquor trader said the business was badly hit because a large number of migrant workers, the main consumers of the country-made liquor, have left the state.

Amritsar assistant excise and taxation commissioner (AETC) Sukhchain Singh said they didn’t receive instructions from the government for opening of liquor shops. “A meeting of state cabinet committee on the subject is scheduled for Thursday. Once we get the orders from the state government, the shops will be allowed to open.”

(With inputs from Bathinda, Amritsar)