4 dry days during July-September notified in Delhi: Excise department

The four dates that have been notified as dry days are July 29, August 15, September 7 and September 28

NEW DELHI: The sale of liquor will be prohibited for four days in Delhi during the July-September quarter, a Delhi government official said on Wednesday after chief minister Arvind Kejriwal cleared the excise department’s proposal.

The Delhi government notifies the dry days every three months under the Delhi excise policy (File/Representative Image)

The city government notifies the dry days every three months.

The official said there will be a ban on liquor on account of Muharram (July 29), Independence Day, (August 15), Janmashtami (September 7), and Eid-e-Milad (September 28).

According to the Delhi Excise Rules, liquor vends cannot sell alcoholic beverages on any dry day but this prohibition does not apply to the sale of alcohol at duty-free shops or serving liquor at hotels, restaurants, bars and special events permitted by the department.

It is only on three national holidays, Republic Day, Independence Day, and Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday, that liquor can neither be sold nor served.

Currently, Delhi has 21 dry days in a year, one of the highest in the country.

An excise department official said that the schedule of dry days is announced by the excise department and the number typically increases in years that also see elections.