10% discount on liquor to fully vaccinated in MP town; not a govt move, says MLA

The Madhya Pradesh government will organise a mega campaign on Wednesday to cover more population under its vaccination programme. As on November 23, a total of 8,12,79,730 Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the state.

The authorities in a town in Madhya Pradesh have announced a 10 per cent discount on country liquor to those who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19. The Mandsaur district excise department said the decision has been taken to boost the ongoing vaccination drive.

The Madhya Pradesh government has set a deadline to administer Covid-19 vaccine shots to all the eligible adults by December-end.(Representative Photo/HT)

Mandsaur's district excise officer Anil Sachan said a 10 per cent discount will be provided to anyone who produces proof (in the form of certificate) of having taken both doses of Covid-19 vaccine. The discount will be applicable at liquor shops in Sitamau Phatak, Bhuniakhedi and Old Bus Stand.

"Also, special care will be taken to ensure that there is no misuse in the said work," he added. If the experiment proves successful, it will be implemented in other parts of the district as well, said Sachan.

However, the move drew criticism from an MLA of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who said it will encourage people to consume liquor.

"This is not a decision taken by the state government, and it will encourage people to consume liquor," BJP MLA from Mandsaur Yashpal Singh Sisodiya said on Twitter in Hindi.

Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh government will organise a mega campaign on Wednesday to cover more population under its vaccination programme. The state government has set a deadline of December-end to complete vaccination of all eligible people.

The total number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in India has crossed the 1.17 billion mark, the central government informed on Tuesday.