Tipplers will have to wait, distilleries can make only sanitiser for now

The government had issued the order allowing distilleries to manufacture alcohol after the outbreak of the coronavirus led to sudden spurt in demand of hand sanitisers and major companies complaining of shortage of raw material.

An excise department order released on Thursday about distilleries and breweries beginning production led some to wrongly believe that liquor sales, which had been hit because of the extended lockdown, would resume anytime soon.

However, principal secretary, excise, Sanjay Bhoosreddy made it clear that Thursday’s order was a repeat of the order of March 20 allowing distilleries to manufacture alcohol-based sanitisers in their distilleries where liquor is manufactured or brewed.

The government had issued the order allowing distilleries to manufacture alcohol after the outbreak of the coronavirus led to sudden spurt in demand of hand sanitisers and major companies complaining of shortage of raw material.

“We would like to make it clear that packaging, marketing and sale of liquor would stay banned until the governments at the centre and the state take a call on it after April 20,” Bhoosreddy said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his televised address on April 14, had said the government would consider providing graded relaxations in those areas after April 20 especially those where Covid-19 cases are controlled. He had, however, added that those relaxations would be withdrawn if fresh cases were reported.

“Only sanitiser manufacturing and sale is permitted by these distilleries in light of Covid-19 pandemic and the latest order too should be read in that light,” Bhoosreddy said.