India liquor shops breach social distancing norms |
Many government-run liquor shops, which opened after a gap of over 40 days in the different Indian states on Monday. People queued up in large numbers since the wee hours in the morning at the liquor shops. Many tipplers jostled and pulled at each other forcing authorities to shut the stores in some places to prevent near-riot situations. Extraordinary scenes of chaos were witnessed outside the government-run shops in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Lucknow and other cities. According to an official, in National Capital Delhi, about 150 government-run liquor shops have been allowed to open from 9 am to 6.30 pm in accordance with the latest lockdown relaxations given by the ministry of home affairs. Many people were not aware that only government shops were allowed to open. Late on Monday night, the Delhi government imposed a 70 percent ``special corona fee`` on the sale of liquor. The new rate came into effect from Tuesday. Thousands of men, and in a few cases women too, were seen standing in snaking queues for hours or jostling restlessly as they waited for the shutters to go up. Many liquor shops had to be shut down in east Delhi as people failed to maintain social distancing norms. Similar cases were reported from north and central Delhi.
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