The Maharashtra government on Tuesday issued several instructions to the owners of liquor shops in the state asking them to follow it during the relaxations amid coronavirus COVID-19 lockdown. A day after the state government gave relaxations paving way for the re-opening of the liquor shops, it restricted the sale of liquor to over 400 customers in a single day.
It has also been made mandatory for the customers to fill up a form in which the details of the customer, quantity of liquor purchase and brand name will have to be mentioned. The state government has made it mandatory to observe social distancing and maintain a distance of six feet.
On May 4, about three lakh litres of liquor was sold in Maharashtra and the government collected about Rs 12 crore in revenue. Following relaxations in lockdown norms, long queues of tipplers were seen outside standalone liquor shops on May 4 in various parts of Maharashtra though authorities in some districts decided not to permit alcohol sale.
All liquor shops were closed ever since a national lockdown was imposed across the country on March 25 to halt the spread of coronavirus. The lockdown was extended till May 17, but standalone liquor shops were permitted to operate as part of relaxations by the state government.
The governments decision saw a large number of tipplers queuing up outside liquor shops. Restaurants and permit rooms in the state are not functioning as of now; thus this income is only from the sale of IMFL from standalone counters, news agency PTI said.
Maharashtra earns Rs 25,500 crore from sale and excise duty on various types of liquor, beer and wine annually, said PTI. However, daily average revenue is of Rs 78 crore on a normal day. However, some district collectors have decided not to open liquor shops in their respective jurisdiction. On May 4, police resorted to mild lathicharge at some places, including Kolhapur and Pune, to disperse people gathered outside liquor outlets.
The Maharashtra government clarified that all shops it has allowed to remain open, without distinction of those supplying essential or non-essential goods, shall function to their full operational timing and days to avoid crowding. It said that no restrictions like timing/day will be imposed on them by any authority except by the municipal commissioners of corporations in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), the Pune Metropolitan Region and Nagpur, Aurangabad and Nashik and by district collectors in the rest of the state.
The government said it is very necessary to ensure smooth and seamless availability of supplies during the coronavirus-triggered lockdown.
It said regulating markets and shops with various restrictions such as specific days, timings, entry points, among others, was proving to be counter-productive. The government noted such restrictions are seen to be attracting crowds due to uncertainty.
The government also said only the municipal commissioners or district collectors can change the perimeter/boundary of the coronavirus containment area they had determined. In a statement issued later, the government said that at some places local officers insisted that shops be kept open only on certain days and time slots.
