Alcohol classified as essential item in Kerala & Punjab, liquor shops remain open

March 26: In a rarest incident, when people are baffled to manage grocery items during the 21 days lockdown period, two Indian states have listed alcoholic items as ‘essential’ and decide to keep all liquor shops open. However, bars would not be allowed to open during the lockdown period as it would defeat the objective of social distancing.

On the question of what made the government think that alcoholic beverages could be listed as an essential item, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan  said, “The peculiar situation prevailing in the state demands such a measure.” The state governments claimed to have received an intelligence report last week that warned of serious consequences, including bootlegging, if legitimate sale of liquor were to be stopped.

Pictures of customers maintaining a safe distance of a few metres from each other while queuing up outside liquor outlets in Kerala have been doing the rounds ever since social distancing became part of the anti-coronavirus lexicon. Duties on liquor fetch the state exchequer around Rs 2,500 crore annually, accounting for 15% of its revenue.