Opening liquor shops: Tax revenues vs saving lives l HT Debates

As lockdown 3.0 kicked in, standalone liquor shops opened their shutters. Across the country, people queued up, with little regard for social distancing norms. In several places police had to resort to mild lathi-charge to bring the situation under control. Many shops had to be shut in the afternoon due to the massive crowds. While the decision to open liquor shops was taken with a view to help state exchequers, the overcrowding at the shops seemed to defeat the purpose of the extended lockdown. Watch this video where Hindustan Times editors decode the government's dilemma of ensuring tax revenues and ensuring social distancing to curb Covid-19.