Coronavirus outbreak: Liquor tap sputters to life, queues flow long

Call it redtape or oversensitivity about allowing nonessential shops to remain open in Mumbai amid the COVID19 pandemic but government agencies especially the BMC were apprehensive through most of Monday about allowing liquor shops to resume business even as thousands lined up for their favourite tipple since early morningThe state government issued orders on Sunday that standalone retail liquor shops could do business in red orange and green zones excluding containment areas between 10 am and 6 pm from MondayFollowing the state order the State Excise Departments Mumbai city and suburban superintendents and district collectors came up with joint notifications a few hours before the 6 pm deadline and a little after 330 pm some liquor shops opened with some of them allowing only one bottle per customerA man with his liquor stock in Sion on Monday PicPradeep DhivarHowever the BMC hadnt made any announcement till 5 pm Some of its assistance commissioners tweeted early morning that nonessentials shops including liquor shops should not be opened without the BMC nodMunicipal Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi did not respond to text messages When told about the chaos Chief Secretary Ajoy Mehta assured to look into the matter A senior BMC official said in the two videoconferences that Pardeshi held with state government bureaucrats liquor shops were not discussedMeantime Principal Secretary Bhushan Gagrani incharge of media relations for state governments COVID19 mitigation said in a press conference online that local authorities like municipal commissioners and district collectors are authorised to overrule the states common guidelines under the powers vested in them by the Epidemic Diseases Act But he said local authorities were told to issue separate orders elucidating the reasons behind stalling the state guideline Nagpur and Aurangabad Collectors have specifically told state bosses that they wont allow liquor shops to reopen Whereas other collectors who thought of allowing the measure were prompt in circulating orders to retailers and other stakeholdersA senior excise department official told midday that Greater Mumbais case was different Here at least four agencies are involved in decisionmaking We followed the states orders and issued our own notifications that would also go to licensed retailers BMC and city police are the other two agencies which have been working jointly in COVID19 mitigation and they know the fight and its nuances for taking any further decisions the officer saidBy late afternoon some Excise Department officials had reached BMC headquarters to hand over the departments order and also seek information on containment areas Its a tricky situation that needs to be tackled in a foolproof process Such decisions dont happen very quickly The other side is that the shop operators might have their own difficulties like deputing healthy staff 50 per cent of the total strength on counters Shops might not have inventory and require new stock from wholesalers he said adding the business was likely to resume smoothly in a day or two provided that the BMC gives a green signal6PMTime by which liquor shops must shutCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news