NewsGate Press Network

Day when Central Government officially said ‘don’t call this time as Lockdown 3.0 – call it ‘easing out 2.0’ –  the real Phase-III of the countrywide lockdown started with a ‘bang’ at the liquor shops.

Take a snap shot at the East Delhi liquor shop where concept of social distancing went for a toss.

Large crowds that had collected at wine & beer shops caught authorities off guarded. “No one had expected this”, senior police officials stated.

Not in hundreds but the swelling and restless crowds were seen in thousands. Sensing trouble, Delhi Police took no time to pull down the shutters of liquor vends.

A light cane charge was also used at many locations in South and East Delhi to bring the situation under control and later forced authorities to stop the sale of liquor for good part of the day.

Later in the day during PIB media briefing on COVID19 crisis, Health Ministry spokesperson pointedly asked press not to categorise the current phase of lockdown as Lockdown 3.0.

But the spokesperson insisted that we should ‘take it as (a phase of) easing out 2.0”.

As people failed to maintain social distancing norms, the first liquor vend that was closed down soon after it had opened-up was in Mayur Vihar in East Delhi. Similar scenes were reported from north and central Delhi where police cleared clogged traffic outside L-1 liquor shops.

Liquor shops in Karol Bagh, Daryagang and DB Gupta Road in the Central Delhi were shut down by the police after restless crowds did not maintain social distancing norms, said another senior police official.

While liquor shops in Anand Parbat and Ranjeet Nagar did not open, liquor vends in Paharganj area which opened at around 9 am was closed by 12 noon as people gathered there failed to maintain social distancing norms.

The Delhi government has issued an order allowing all state-run liquor shops to operate from 9 am to 6.30 pm and directed deployment of marshals for maintaining social distancing norms.

According to a Delhi government official, about 150 liquor shops have been allowed to open in accordance with the latest lockdown relaxations given by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

There are around 850 liquor shops in the Capital including those run by government agencies and private individuals.

Reports of chaos at the liquor shops were reported from Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

In a late night development a Delhi Government official stated that “liquor in Delhi will cost more from Tuesday onwards as the government has decided to impose a 70 percent ‘Special Corona Fee’ on its sale in the national capital.
The move will boost government revenue, which has been hit hard due to the coronavirus-forced lockdown.
“70 percent ‘Special Corona Fee’ has been imposed on the MRP of liquor bottles.
The new rate will be applicable from Tuesday, 5 May 2020.