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All liquor shops, except those in malls, airport to reopen: Delhi govt
The Delhi government Tuesday allowed the opening of all liquor shops, except for those that are located in shopping malls and the airport.
The Delhi government Tuesday allowed the opening of all liquor shops, except for those that are located in shopping malls and the airport. This came a day after the Delhi government scaled down restrictions in the fourth phase of the nationwide lockdown that kicked in on May 18 and will continue till May 31.
The shops shall remain open from 9.30am to 6.30pm, read the order.
There are 864 liquor shops in Delhi, of which around 600 will reopen now. This is apart from the 100 that had opened for business on May 4. The rest are located in containment zones, which include the airport and shopping malls, and cannot reopen under the guidelines issued by the Union home ministry, a senior official in the excise department said.
The 850-odd restaurants in the city, which have a bar, have also not been allowed to sell liquor yet, though, under the new guidelines, their kitchen is now open for takeaway and the home delivery of food, the official said.
Of the 700 liquor shops that can reopen, around 400 are under government departments, such as tourism and industrial and infrastructure development while the remaining 300 are private enterprises.
“With the reopening of private vends, people will once again be able to avail of a much wider variety of Indian-manufactured foreign liquor, beer, wine, as well as imported liquor, after around two months of dry days,” a government official said.
While the government-run shops can start functioning from Wednesday after thorough sanitisation, the private ones have been given time till Friday to complete stock management formalities, sanitisation, arranging staff and social distancing measures, excise officials said.
The private enterprises that can operate now also include general stores and department stores that have alcohol counters. But they will have to adhere to the timings and the odd-even rule for shops in case they are located in markets or commercial spaces, the senior excise official said.
Of the 700 liquor shops that can reopen, around 200 are stand-alone shops (those not located in market clusters), which can open all days of the week. The remaining 500 are located in markets and, hence, they will have to follow the odd-even rule, which allows shops allocated odd and even numbers to open on alternate dates.
In the last two weeks, there have been massive crowds and rampant violation of social distancing norms around the 100 or so liquor shops in Delhi that were open for business, often leading the police and district administration to crack down.
Vinod Giri, director-general of the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies, welcomed the move calling it a “win-win situation” for stakeholders. He said, “It will help stabilise the industry. It will help the government earn revenue. It will help customers buy liquor of their choice, which several of them have not been able to do in the past several days either due to the massive rush or inadequate stocks. Having more shops open would also help ensure better social distancing.”
The e-coupon system that was introduced by the Delhi government last week would continue. Under this system, individuals can apply online and avail of time slots to visit a designated liquor shop and purchase liquor without having to join a queue.
The government, however, has done away with the proposal of the home delivery of liquor, for now, a senior government official said.
Also, the “special corona fee” of 70% on the MRP of liquor would continue to apply.
