Soon after the lockdown restrictions were eased in Delhi, people rushed in large numbers to the liquor shops in the city. There were kilometre-long queues outside the standalone liquor shops. People weren’t maintaining the norms of social distancing either. Many shops had to even pull down their shutters way ahead of the closure timings to bring the situation under control. Finding a solution to this, the government has come up with a smart plan. Read on.
What’s Happening?
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal eased the lockdown restrictions in the city from 4th May 2020. This allowed standalone liquor, pan and tobacco shops to operate. The revised guidelines stated that there should not be more than five people at one time in a shop. Also, a minimum distance of 6-feet must be kept between the customers. However, some people totally forgot about the social distancing rules. To solve the issue, the government has imposed a ‘Special Corona Fee’ of 70 percent on the sale of liquor in Delhi. This will not only reduce the crowd outside the liquor shops but also generate revenue for the government.
What Else?
The government has allowed operations of about 150 state-run liquor shops outside the COVID-19 containment zones. They will remain open from 9 AM to 6:30 PM. Neighbouring state Haryana is also mulling over imposing a COVID tax on alcohol to support the regions that are badly affected by the pandemic. This was recently informed by Dushyant Chautala, the Deputy Chief Minister of the state.
So, if you’re planning to have a house party with your roomies or family now, you need to shell out those extra bucks to bring home your liquor bottles. But since the prices are high, you can be assured that the crowds won’t be thick and you will be safer.
First Published: May 05, 2020 1:15 PM