Liquor shops open in Chhattisgarh for first time since March; Govt allows home delivery

Chhattisgarh government has allowed liquor shops to reopen in the State as lockdown restrictions were eased as part of a staggered exit from the coronavirus lockdown. The State excise department has gone a step ahead to allow home delivery of alcohol at some places to ensure people don't storm shops in large crowds and break social distancing norms.

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As per an order issued by the Chhattisgarh excise department on Sunday, the liquor shops in the state, including the premium liquor shops, will remain open from 8 am to 7 pm from Monday onwards. Also, only the retail sale of liquor of up to five litres is allowed. The purchase limit of foreign and country liquor is three litres and up to six quartz bottles for malt variety of liquor i.e. beer.

The order says, "Delivery boys have to be deployed for the purpose of liquor delivery and they could be engaged through placement agencies. The fates for delivering liquor can be finalized after obtaining the lowest rate from the manpower placement agencies."

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Liquor shops allowed to open

Many states including Chhattisgarh had been demanding liquor shops be allowed to open since its sale generates a large chunk of revenue for state governments. States like Delhi, Maharashtra, Kerala also opened liquor shops on Monday. The Centre has allowed them to open in all zones, except 'Containment Zones', given they follow strict physical distancing and wear masks all the time.

(Representational Image - PTI)

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