Home delivery of liquor will be allowed only within the limits of various municipalities in Maharashtra's Thane district, barring containment zones inthese areas, amid the COVID-19 lockdown, an official said on Saturday.
Supreme Court refuses to entertain a petition seeking direction to close liquor shops, as the shops are not maintaining social distancing and following other norms.
Tipplers in Kerala will again get to purchase liquor soon as the state was in the process of reopening the vends, Excise Minister TP Ramakrishnan said on Thursday.
The home delivery of liquor in Maharashtra will start from 10 am on May 15, an order issued by the state excise department on Wednesday said. The state government had on Tuesday allowed home delivery of liquor to avoid crowding at shops amid the coronavirus-enforced lockdown. however, tipplers in Mumbai will have to wait.
23 of the 36 Maharashtra districts have been allowed to operate liquor shops during the ongoing lockdown, according to the guidelines issued by the commissioner of state excise. Nashik, Thane and Pune are among 23 districts allowed to open liquor shops while Mumbai has to wait.
The Jharkhand government is planning to open liquor shops in green and orange zones of the state, sources in the government said.
The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday moved the Supreme Court challenging a Madras High Court order for closure of state-run liquor outlets on grounds of violations of COVID-19 guidelines, arguing that it would lead to "grave losses" in revenue and complete halt in commercial activities.
The Madras High Court on Friday ordered the closure of all state-run TASMAC liquor shops in Tamil Nadu while permitting online and door delivery only. The court order comes after petitioners pointed out crowding and violation of social distancing norms at liquor shops. Earlier, the court had refused to stay the government's decision to open liquor shops in the state.
The Shiv Sena on Thursday took a dim view of large crowds outside liquor shops in Mumbai earlier this week, and said people should understand that liquor is "not a vaccine" for COVID-19.
Liquor shops in Tamil Nadu are allowed to open from today after the Madras High Court on Wednesday permitted opening of Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) shops.
Amid relaxation in lockdown 3.0, people formed long queues outside a liquor stores in national capital. Delhi Government on May 04 imposed a "Special Corona Fee" of 70% tax on Maximum Retail Price of the liquor.
Taking a U-turn on its decision, the Tamil Nadu government said liquor shops in Chennai that were supposed to re-open from May 7, will now not be opening from Thursday.
After witnessing chaos at the liquor shops across Andhra Pradesh, the state government has also hiked the alcohol prices by 75%. The government had earlier raised by 25% but that did not succeed in discouraging people from thronging the liquor shops.
Liquor shops in Ghaziabad are opening from today (Tuesday, May 5) after they were closed for a period of over 40 days due to the coronavirus outbreak in the country when the government imposed a nation-wide lockdown.
The Delhi government has announced 'special corona fee' on the sale of liquor, under which 70 per cent more will be charged on the purchase of liquor. On Monday, authorities in some parts of Delhi - including in Laxmi Nagar, were forced to shut down liquor shops after people defied social distancing norms, to an extent that the police had to resort to lathi-charge.
As liquor shops in various states across the country resume their sale, the Tamil Nadu government on Monday decided to open state-run liquor retail outlets from May 7 onwards.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Monday said it was unfortunate that chaos ensued at liquor shops in the national capital with social distancing norms at stake. Kejriwal warned of sealing areas and revoking relaxations if social distancing and other norms are not followed.
As liqour shops re-open in green and orange zones, booze lovers queue-up in front of the shops from 7 am itself in some parts of the country.
From Delhi to Bengaluru, Kolkata to Mumbai, India woke up to long queues outside liquor shops hours ahead of their opening post relaxation in lockdown curbs starting today (May 4). #LiquorShops was the No 1 trend on Twitter as photos of people lining-up outside alcohol shops spread on the social media and news channels.
Initially, the West Bengal government guideline allowed shops to stay open from 10 AM till 6 PM, but later the timing was changed from 3 PM to 6 PM.
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