Private liquor shops in Delhi opened on Saturday after being shut for over two months during the nationwide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of novel coronavirus.
The Excise Department had issued an order on Friday allowing 66 private liquor shops (L-7 and L-9) to open. These private liquor shops will remain open from 9 am to 6.30 pm on an odd-even basis.
According to the order, any of these shops placed within a containment zone in the coming days will be closed immediately.
There are 389 private liquor shops in Delhi, out of which around 150 are in malls. According to the rules of lockdown 4.0, liquor shops in malls aren’t allowed to open.
As many as 239 private liquor shops that aren’t in containment zones can be opened on an odd-even basis.
The excise department says guards will be stationed outside every shop; they will ensure that social distancing norms are maintained.
If a private shop is opened on the basis of false information, its license will be cancelled, the department’s order said.
On May 4 — at the beginning of the third lockdown phase — the government allowed the reopening of around 150 state-run liquor shops, resulting in long queues.
Later, the government introduced an e-token system that gave customers a specific date and time to buy liquor, in an attempt to avoid overcrowding and long queues.
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