Delhi weddings facing brunt of liquor shortage?

Struggling with liquor shortage in the wedding season, Delhiites are being forced to opt for less popular brands and even go out of Delhi to stock up on alcohol.

What is #DilliwaliShaadi without a well-stocked bar? But those arranging weddings and other pre-wedding functions during this season, are running from pillar to post to find alternate ways to ensure the supply is swell at their gatherings. The shortage of liquor, especially the premium brands in Delhi, is affecting the numerous weddings since the few licensed liquor shops in the Capital are running with almost empty shelves, and quite a few Delhiites are forced to rejig their alcohol preferences.

Delhiites hosting weddings this season are facing a major challenge in procuring alcohol due to the liquor shortage in Delhi. Reportedly, only 100 out of 850 wine shops have reopened in the city so far. (Photo: Amal KS/HT (For representational purposes only))

“My daughter recently got married, and it became quite difficult for me to get alcohol for all the functions that we had planned for her wedding,” says JK Kriplani, a businessman who lives in Shalimar Bagh. He adds, “I live in north Delhi and travelled all the way to Khan Market in south, when I got to know that one wine shop had some good stock available. But, the next day when I went to buy more, the shop was empty! Then we were forced to opt for lower brands. In fact, we were only able to source only one average brand, and scotch toh thi hi nai wahaan... It was such a disappointment that we couldn’t offer all the brands to our guests, but ab kya hi karein.”

City-based caterers are also experiencing a challenge to pacify the guests who are ready to shell out extra for brands of their choice. “Popular brands gayab hain market se, woh bhi is time pe jab demand itni zyada hai shaadiyon mein. Bahut dikkat ho rahi hai hume logon ko samjhane mein ki hum jaan bhujhke ek hi brand nahi rakh rahe, peeche se maal hi nahi aa rha,” says Rajesh Gupta from a catering and decorator company in Paschim Vihar, adding, “Majboori me log wedding functions ke liye lower brands le rahe hain. Humein unhe convince karna padh raha hai ki jo hai usi me maan jayein. Kayi log jo bahut specific hote hain brands ko leke, they are OK to buy lesser number of bottles, but refuse to go for cheaper variants.”

“Peeche se hi samaan kam aa raha hai,” says Ankit Aggarwal from a catering and wedding planning company based in Shahdra. He adds, “Jahan toh house parties hain, uske liye expensive brands reserve kar rahe hain zyadatar log, aur shaadi ya bade functions mein saste brands se kaam chala rahe hain. Ab sabko pata hi hai dilli me kya haal hai, toh jo guests wedding attend karne aa rahe hain, woh bhi samajhte hain is situation ko. Par kuchh log phir bhi shaadi pe tamasha karte hain agar unki pasand ka brand na mile.”

In the quest to appease their guests, many Delhiites have been flocking to NCR to buy the stock of alcohol for weddings. “Dilli se bahut saare log aa rahe hai aur kaafi saari bottles leke jaate hai ek hi bar mein,” says Manish Jain from a wine shop in Gurugram, adding, “Aaj kal toh itna rush ho gya hai, ki yahaan par humara stock bhi low hi chal raha hai. Kai Gurgugram ke log abhi khaali hath wapis laut rahe hain.”

Some Delhiites have been requesting their wedding guests from cities near Delhi, to help them with alcohol. “It was my cousin brother’s wedding recently and we just couldn’t get the brands of our choice. So for the big functions, we just went with the brand available. For the functions at home. we requested our family members who were travelling from NCR and Punjab to get some bottles for us,” says Rupesh Goyal, an IT professional from Pitampura. Author tweets @anjuri

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