As we all have known that because of this pandemic they have shut the liquor shops down. This has been one of the most daring decision taken by the government as the liquor shops play a major role in putting up the taxes. As we have entered the third stage of the lockdown or the third phase of the lockdown, the Government has given a sign of relaxation on the rules from May 4, 2020.
Similarly, the liquor stores are said to be opened in the zones of GREEN and ORANGE where they have no cases at all and the ones which have minute cases on the run. It is still said to be closed in the RED zone or the contaminated zones. The liquor shops are being opened after 40 days of lockdown.
The rules for the Liquors were-
- Strict social distancing.
- Not over five people at the shop at any point of time.
- A distance of about 6 feet from person to person.
- Drinking on the roads, having pan on roads and spitting would be punishable.
Considering the plot twist and the Indian population to not understand norms would cost people’s lives. As they raised the bars for the Liquor shops in those zones, this has put on a tough ride for the police and the cops. The lines have formed for about kilometres and they say a few of the shops are already said to be on the SHUT DOWN mode as the crowd was wavering and the police could not control them and there was no SOCIAL DISTANCING in the lines. Many people have come down without masks, no sanitation.
It was chaotic and the police also could not control the situation by forcing them to shut down the shops. Few states imposed strict norms for the alcohol/Liquor shops,
- Goa has followed the norms and also said “NO MASK, NO ALCOHOL”.
- Chhattisgarh is planning to do home delivery in-order to avoid lines and crowd.
All the states with an allowance should IMPOSE strict rules so it does not cause much damage in the coming days. This has shown in the first place why the government closed liquor stores, even though it gave the most revenues and taxes on board. Hoping that this decision would not cost something dreadful.