Dry days ahead for Delhi, private liquor stores to stay shut for over a month

In Delhi, a liquor crisis may develop as the government has decided to shut down private liquor shops from October 1 to November 17. This is due to the new excise policy introduced by the Arvind Kejriwal government. However, even after November 17, only those who were allotted the liquor license will be allowed to make transactions leading to a permanent closure of several private liquor stores, reported PTI.

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From October 1 to November 17, which is the transition period of nearly one-and-half months, only government-run liquor vendors will remain open. The government vends will close down on November 16 and private vends with a renewed licenses will take over.

The change comes in light of the Delhi government’s new excise policy under which, retail liquor sale licenses have already been allotted to the highest bidders in 32 zones, each having around 10 wards and 27 liquor vendors. So currently, there are 849 liquor stores in Delhi, out of which 276 are privately run and the rest are operated by the Delhi government’s agencies.

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With this transition and closure of many privately-run liquor shops, Delhites may face struggles to obtain their favourite brands from the market, the implication of which can already be seen.

“There are already problems in getting one’s favourite brands since the private liquor store in my neighbourhood has depleted its stock as it is wrapping up business. Permanent closure of private shops means more problems,” Dhiraj Kumar, a Laxmi Nagar resident, told PTI.

In response to these concerns, an excise department official said that the government vendors have been asked to stock up in view of an expected surge in demand.

“It’s a transition phase and some people may have problems but there will be no shortage as there are adequate number of government vends to cater to the demand,” the officer said.

The government official also said that there are around 720 operating liquor vends in Delhi, out of which nearly 260 or 40% are privately run.