Coronavirus: Spirited booze lovers throng stores as liquor sales resume in Karnataka

Booze lovers ushered in the resumption of liquor sales in a spirited fashion in Karnataka on Monday thronging stores hours before shutters went up at several places and made no secret of their celebratory mood.

At some places, they flocked liquor shops even before day-break and performed "special prayers" with flowers, coconuts, incense sticks, camphor and crackers in front of the stores.

Liquor outlets had been shut in the State from March 25following the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Excise revenue loss during the period was about Rs 2,500crore, according to government sources.

For latest updates on coronavirus outbreak, click here

About 4,500 standalone liquor outlets (CL-2 and CL- 11licence holders), which comprise wine stores and those owned by state-run Mysore Sales International Limited, outside containment zones were allowed to be opened from Monday from 9 am to 7 pm with some restrictions.

These include customers compulsorily wearing of facemasks and maintaining social distancing with not more than five people inside liquor shops.

Many customers were indeed well-prepared.

At many places, they came with umbrella, raincoat, newspapers and books and queued up as early as 3 am.

At a liquor shop in Salegame Road in Hassan, the tipplerslit the traditional lamp and incense sticks performed 'aarati'with camphor and decorated the store with the garland of flowers.

With folded hands, they all performed 'special prayers'.

In Mandya, the tipplers queued up before Martaanda liquor shop before dawn.

An hour before the sales were to resume, a few people burst crackers in celebration.

Some tipplers in Belagavi were more "enterprising."

Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths on May 4

They went to a liquor store on Sunday night itself, performed special prayers and placed their "representatives" in the form of slippers, bags and stones in the "social distancing boxes" they themselves had drawn so that they don't have to stand in a queue in the morning.

An elderly woman Dakamma was the centre of attraction in Shivamogga.

The bent body did not bend the determination of this spirited lady, claimed to be 96-year-old, who was heard saying "liquor is good for health."

At the taluk headquarters town of Brahmavara in the coastal Udupi district, the queue of the booze lovers was reported to be almost half-a-kilometre.

Long queues were seen at liquor stores at Mariyappana Palyaand K R Puram, among others, in Bengaluru.

The store managers too were no less cautious while dealing with customers in the COVID era.

They let the customers enter after spraying sanitisers in their hands, and allowed only those who had worn masks and maintained social distancing.

To maintain law and order, authorities had deployed policemen in good numbers at these stores and they were seen on duty ensuring that customers maintained social distancing.