‘CORONA’ that led to ‘SORONA’, Tipplers Now All Set to Grab their Favourite Booze on Monday 4 May

‘CORONA’ that led to ‘SORONA’, Tipplers Now All Set to Grab their Favourite Booze on Monday 4 May

‘CORONA’ that led to ‘SORONA’ ( ‘No Liquor’ in Konkani), Tipplers Now are All Set to Grab their Favourite Booze on Monday 4 May, as liquor shops will OPEN after a long-break

Mangaluru: The Opening of liquor shops tomorrow, 4 May is GOOD NEWS to TIPPLERS, but BAD NEWS for BOOTLEGGERS, who had made a fortune all these days by selling alcohol at exorbitant prices, but now out of luck. It’s time to say “Hic..Hic..Hooray”; and it’s time to Cheers by raising our glasses or bottles since it’s time for celebration after long long dry-days. Come tomorrow morning, you’ll see BIG queues in front of certain wine shops, with tipplers duly standing 5-6 feet apart from each other, who have come to buy their “Cheering” commodity.

Yes, it’s finally time to buy your favourite booze as liquor shops are ready to serve you on Monday morning, from 9 am until 7 pm, with certain conditions that apply. And the sale is only for take away- and all those smaller wine shops who were doing some illegal business by serving their customers behind or side of their shops, are out of luck because they will be thoroughly watched by the excise and other district admin officials. And we are all seeing the wine shops open after nearly 40 days of dryness- and the govt had no option than to open the liquor shops since it was losing heavy revenues.

It is learnt that CL-11C (State -run-retails shops like MSIL) and CL-2 (retail shops only for selling liquor) will be ONLY allowed to sell liquor, and an order in this regard has been issued with conditions by the excise dept to all liquor outlets. Even though earlier there was a confusion that liquor shops will be allowed to open only in Green Zones, but following close on its heels, the Central govt ordered that liquor could be sold in all zones. But the shops should be standalone liquor shops-meaning they should not be inside a mall or a complex. No bars and pubs will be opened until further notice.

One more good news for tipplers is that there is no shortage of stock in Karnataka, and all your favourite brands of liquor, beer and wine are available. The excise dept has issued compulsory six feet social distancing order that should be followed by all shops, and that customers and sellers should wear face masks. Shops will also have to strictly limit the number of customers to five at a time, while ensuring that they maintain social distancing – not less than six feet distance, to be precise. Shops are also mandated to provide sanitizers to everyone.

The state government was under immense pressure to resume liquor sales, what with Excise being a key revenue generator for the exchequer accounting for 18% of the state’s own tax collections. The Excise department suffered massive losses over the past month owing to the lockdown. The losses were at Rs 60 crore per day over the last forty days. Further, a complete ban on liquor sales also resulted in bootlegging. During the lockdown period (up to April 23), the Excise officials raided unauthorized outlets, seizing 44,081 litres of IML, 30,776 litres of beer, 980 litres of wine, 2,665 litres of toddy and 4,575 litres of ID (illicitly distilled) liquor. In this period, overall 1,388 cases were registered and about 591 individuals involved in illicit trade are arrested. Several instances of theft and break-ins at liquor stores across the state were reported during the lockdown period.

Liquor shops in the City were seen getting ready for the BIG rush tomorrow, by painting circles for social distancing and some barricading their surroundings. Speaking to Team Mangalorean, Louis Pinto, Owner of ‘High Spirits’ liquor stores in and around the City said, “We have made all the necessary precautions and arrangements for tomorrow, and will strictly abide by the excise dept rules and regulations. We have marked spots for social distancing, and will not sell liquor to those who don’t wear face masks. We will strictly allow only five persons at a time in our walk-in stores, but at other stores, we will sell liquor to one person at a time. Hoping everything will go on smoothly tomorrow without any hassles or problems”.

Also speaking to Team Mangalorean, Dane D’Souza, Managing Partner of Wines & Spirits said, “We are all set to handle the business tomorrow. Social distancing spots have been marked, and sales will be strict to those who wear face masks. Since all our stores are walk-ins, but we will not allow anyone to enter the store, instead will hand-over the items at the entrance door to the customers. We have chalked out plans to avoid any untoward incidents during the sale of liquor. We will follow the guidelines of the excise department and also the guidelines of Covid-19 lockdown. Hoping for the best tomorrow, and the days to follow”.

But a few liquor shops owners have to grapple with various issues -like one mega liquor shop owner (who wanted to remain anonymous) said that the most challenging being deployment of enough manpower to ensure social distancing and other norms related to Covid-19. Also that many of his employees have left for their native places when the lockdown was announced, and since no transportation/buses are in service, they can’t return soon. “We just three-four employees at the moment it will be tough to maintain the rush, but will have to manage I guess”, he said.

So, to all you Tipplers out there, have a good night of sleep tonight, and get ready for your BIG shopping spree tomorrow at your favourite liquor shop to buy your favourite liquor, beer or wine- and I say “CHEERS” well in advance. But Drink responsibly and stay home safe- Don’t Come Out or DRIVE or RIDE- it’s pandemic Time and not party time?